Absolute Alteration
by iismirc
Summary: Hinata wakes up one night, after a dream in which revealed what her future holds. Yet Hinata doesn't realize that with the knowledge she has, she's altering not only her life, but everyone elses... HinataxSasuke
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Note: Beware, It starts off with Spoiler***Chap 437*****

**Summary: Hinata wakes up one night, after a dream in which revealed what her future holds. Yet Hinata doesn't realize that with the knowledge she has, she's altering not only her life, but everyone elses... HinataxSasuke. Other pairings might develope as story goes on.**

**That's all~ Enjoy^-^**

**---**

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

"I won't let you lay another finger on Naruto!" Hinata had jumped from behind and took her fighting stance, facing Pain with determination. She allowed her braveness overcome the fear she felt in her heart. She shook those negative feelings as she glared at pain.

"Reinforcements, Eh" Pain looked amused as he watched the weak Ninja try to fight him.

Naruto's eyes widen as he looked ahead, watching Hinata stand up for him.

"What are you doing here? Get out of here you're no match!" He felt a strong fear overcome him as he yelled. He didn't want to lose another special person. He watches Hinata turn around to look at him, but the look in the eyes she had made him understand why she was doing this; she was in love with him. Hinata smiled sadly, and her voice was calm.

"I know…" Of course she knew she was no match. But she didn't care anymore. She wanted to protect him so badly. Naruto's eyes didn't stop from reflecting the shock he felt. The wind began to pick up and Hinata's long hair waved freely.

"I'm…just being selfish…" Hinata whispered, however he was able to hear it.

"What are you talking about!? What're you doing here!? It's dangerous!" Naruto yelled, trying to change Hinata's decision, and make her run away to safety.

"…I'm here on my own free will…" Hinata started having flashbacks about the times she almost let her heart give into darkness. "…I used to always cry and give up…I nearly went the wrong way…" Hinata remembered the times she used to hide behind tree and secretly watch Naruto train on his own. "But you, you showed me the right way…" Naruto's eyes widen more as he began to realize that Hinata had always been there for him. "I was always chasing you…wanting to overtake you…I just wanted to walk with you…I wanted to be with you…" Hinata turned around and smiled at him sweetly. "But you changed me! Your smile saved me!" Her eyes began to reflect her determination. "So I'm not afraid to die protecting you!!" Naruto could not describe the feeling he was feeling. He was somehow happy yet, the fear he began to feel started to over take him. "Because I…"Hinata turned to face Pain again. "Love you…" With the last words she dashed forward and ran towards pain. She made a few hand signs and attacked Pain, however he simply seemed like he wasn't affected. Pain lifted his hand forward and a strong Jutsu attacked Hinata and half of her body was suddenly buried underground. Her eyes were fading away; she was in completely pain and felt her blood coming out of her mouth. Hinata could faintly hear Naruto yelled at Pain to stop. Hinata stared up at the clouds; she slowly closed her eyes trying to focus. "Release…" Hinata whispered to herself, and the Jutsu she worked so hard on perfecting began to take motion.

---

"AH!" A young girl, around the age of 12, woke up from what it seemed to be a dream. She threw the bed covers to the floor and raised her grey pajama shirt to examine her stomach. The pain she had felt in the dream seemed…Hinata had a dream about how her life would be like 4 years from now. To say the least, she didn't like how things ended. The young Hyuuga slid the door open and exited the room to go to the bathroom.

Hinata stood in front of the mirror and her eyes trailed to the sink. The young girl rarely has dreams, and when she dreams, it usually turns out to be odd premonitions.

_As much as I want to believe this dream was nothing real, my wisdom tells me to trust this weird dream, and to do something to change the future. I finally had the courage to tell Naruto my feelings for him._

Hinata's pale cheek began to turn red at the thought of Naruto, and the fact that he turned out to be such a gently and admirable individual. Hinata eyes her shoulder-length hair and got lost in her thoughts.

_Tomorrow I was planning to cut my hair short... But in the future I let it grow back because I find that Naruto likes girls with long hair…_

Hinata sighed and made a mental note to cancel the appointment she had with her personal hair stylist.

_I don't think I can go back to sleep after this…I'll just take a walk around the garden and keep my self occupied until the clock reaches 6am._

It was finally 6am and Hinata went to do her daily routines of going to the bathroom and showering, before school started. That morning, Hinata's cousin, Neji, noticed there was something different about the look Hinata had in her eyes. The look in her eyes showed undying determination. Neji merely rolled his eyes and packed his stuff and walked with her to school.

---

One week has past already since the graduation. Hinata was sitting in a tree and smiled to herself. The dream she had was indeed very accurate. In the dream she had, Naruto was absent from class, vandalized the Hokages' head monument, failed the final exam and managed to graduate. Hinata figured that tomorrow is the first day back in school but this time as a genin; which means that Naruto and Sasuke will share a kiss that day, of course by accident. Hinata stood up and jumped from the tree, landing down gracefully.

_Tomorrow I will stop that kiss from happening. In the future I often wished that kiss hadn't been shared by those two. But now I get to do something about it._

Hinata's eyes suddenly widen after realization finally hit her.

_Oh no! Sasuke is going to betray the village in the future. Even if I think it's not my business, I believe I should try to do something to prevent that from taking place. That way Naruto doesn't have to suffer so much and chase after him…_

_---_


	2. Chapter 2: Failed to prevent!

**Chapter 2: Failed to Prevent!**

"Hinata good morning!" A young teen with spiky brown hair and two red painting on each side of his cheek greeted Hinata. A small white puppy was resting over his head barking excitedly at her. Hinata waved at him with a faint blush on her face. She turned to her cousin Neji and bowed before running to greet her friend Kiba.

"Kiba good morning to you too" She said gently as the two walked into their new class. "Where is Shino?" Hinata asked looking around. Someone tapped her shoulder from behind and she nearly jumped in surprise.

"Why am I never noticed? I thought we were friends by now Hinata…" Hinata laughed nervously and remembered that somewhere in the future, Shino continued to be mysteriously sneaky, and people often did not notice him.

"Tha-that's not true. Y-you just surprised me!" Hinata stuttered hopelessly because she was feeling nervous.

"Haha you know how Shino can be, just don't mind him." Kiba said, grinning at Hinata.

"Mm I guess…" Hinata said while making her way towards her new seat. Hinata took her seat, and besides her sat Kiba, and next to Kiba sat Shino. Basically Kiba was in the middle.

_Today's mission is: Stop Sasuke and Naruto from sharing that kiss._

"Hello Hinata are you there? Helloooo" Kiba waved a hand in front of Hinata because she had zoned out while staring ahead at nothing. Kiba followed Hinata's gaze and frown; in a few rows in front of them sat Sasuke and Naruto.

"Huh? What?" Hinata finally snapped out of it and turned to Kiba with a confused look in her eyes. Kiba glared at the back of Naruto's head and Hinata was quick to notice this and blushed. If Kiba hadn't snapped her out of her calculation trance, she would have missed her chance.

"Excuse me guys!" Hinata turned her head to the door to find Sakura making her way into the class.

_Oh no! I didn't think it will happen so soon!_

"Um Kiba, Shino, even though my eye vision is fine, I want to sit today in front of the class." Hinata said and stood up, tucking a few strand of hair behind her ears. Kiba and Shino looked at one another with confused glances.

"Of course…But if you're having trouble let us know." Kiba said and Hinata smiled and bowed down; quickly making her way down the steps before Sakura noticed where Sasuke was sitting.

Hinata looked at Naruto and saw him staring at Sakura with dreamy eyes. She sighed to herself and nervousness began to over her take.

_Alright…I can do this…I Just have to ask him to let me sit with him…please let Naruto say yes._

A young teen leaned out of nowhere to talk to Naruto.

"Naruto? What the hell are you doing here? Only those who passed are supposed to be here." The boy said while laughing.

"Huh? Hey hey, can't you see this head protector?" Naruto replied in a cocky tone, while grinning at the other boy with confidence.

Hinata sighed to herself as she approached Naruto. The boy that has been teasing Naruto turned to his friends to chatter and left Naruto to go back to his day dreams about Sakura. Hinata stood in front of Naruto and he came back from his dream world because Hinata was blocking the way and he could no longer see Sakura.

"U-um hi Naruto" Hinata said shyly. Naruto looked up at her and raised his eye brow.

In the back, Kiba and Shino looked at one another and seemed surprised at Hinata's straightforwardness. They never thought that the day would come where Hinata could face Naruto like that.

"Hi Hinata" He replied. Next to Naruto, Sasuke's ear perked up at the sudden appearance of Hinata.

_Hinata's bold move is very questionable. I guess she's here to confess the pathetic so called love she has for him. Hn… _Sasuke thought to himself as he eavesdropped. Everyone in the school minus Naruto knew that Hinata had a crush on him.

"Naruto! Move your ass! I want to sit on the other side of you!" Hinata and Naruto turned around to see Sakura looking very mean and demanding.

"Huh?" Naruto felt confused and turned to look at the other side of him to see that Sasuke was sitting next to him therefore that was the reason Sakura wanted to sit there.

_This guy…He was the most popular in our class…Uchiha Sasuke; Always acts cool, I hate this bastard more than anyone!_ Naruto was became upset as he was thinking to himself. However his attention went to the problem at hand; he turned to look back at Sakura.

"I'm sorry Hinata, but will you excuse me?" Sakura was standing next to Hinata, waiting for her to move.

"W-why?" She asked innocently. _I can't let Naruto and Sasuke kiss!!!_

"BECAUSE" She suddenly lowered her tone, remembering she was talking to shy Hinata. "I want to sit with my Sasuke" She said dreamingly. "AND YOU TOO NARUTO, MOVE IT!" Hinata turned to look at Sasuke, and he exchange glace with her. By this time, the whole class suddenly became quiet, and so when Hinata's spoke, her soft voice was heard by all.

"B-but how do you know if he wants to sit next to you?" Hinata asked while turning to look back at Sakura. Naruto grinned at Hinata's response. On the other hand, Sasuke was acting as though he wasn't involved in this, but inside he was starting to wonder if Hinata liked him too.

"What?" Sakura said, in a very threatening tone.

"I-I s-said do you even know if he wants you to be seated next to him?" Hinata asked a little louder. The class seemed surprised by this scene.

"Of course he does! Right Sasuke" Sakura said, and spoke sweetly at the end of her last sentence. Sasuke was going to open his mouth, to say that she's the most annoying girl in this planet but Hinata cut him off.

"H-how can that be? Sasuke asked me this morning to sit next to him if I didn't mind. It's why I was going to ask Naruto to let me sit next to him before you came…" Hinata said calmly hoping that Sasuke would not speak and go along with it.

"WHAT!? IS THAT SO!?" Sakura asked, getting extremely angry causing Hinata to shrink.

"Now sakura…just let Hinata sit here, since it was Sasuke who asked her after all…" Naruto said nervously, as he stood up and backed away from the seat, holding Sakura back from hitting Hinata.

"Thank you Naruto" Hinata bowed down and turned to Sasuke and smiled kindly at him, before taking her seat next to him. Naruto grinned at Sakura and took back his seat, and so now Hinata was sitting between Naruto and Sasuke.

_Success! But um I just hope Sakura won't hate me for this…I'll explain to her maybe if I have time…_

The whole class went back into chatter, while starting rumors about what just took place between Hinata and Sakura. On the other hand Hinata was just oblivious as she got lost into her happy thoughts of achievements. Her head turned to look at Sasuke for a moment. He has his elbows rested on the desk and his chin resting on his fingers that were intertwined with one another. Even though Hinata did not mean to stare at him, Sasuke took it the wrong way and glared at her. Hinata's eyes widen at his reaction.

_He's so hostile…_

"What?" Sasuke's tone told her clearly that he was annoyed with her and that she should leave him alone.

"U-Um sorry! I'm not actually staring at you…" Hinata trailed off. Sasuke followed her gaze and sweatdropped after he found that there was a bird nest outside by their window. He turned back to look at her smiled, and her crystal lavender eyes turned to his dark eyes. "I-I'm also sorry for lying. I-I don't want you to mis-mistake my actions and assume I have feelings…I am not attracted to you-NOT-that I'm trying to offend you…sorry…" spoke as low as possible so she wouldn't be heard by anyone. Her cheeks were turning pink as she tried her hardest not to offend Sasuke.

_I hate to admit that with this Hyuuga sitting next to me I don't have to deal with my psycho fan. _

"Hn" Sasuke's reply reminded her of how Neji behaved; cold and distant and for some reason she felt that she would be able to understand the way he behaves and why.

Hinata continued to zone out and stare outside at the birds; as a distraction to make her heart beat calm down due to Naruto being so close to her.

Meanwhile Kiba sighed as he stared at the back of Hinata's head. Shino seemed to be sharing his pain as he also had his eyes on Hinata.

"That girl can be so oblivious sometimes." Kiba said and earned a nod from Shino. Shino agreed to this because the whole female population from the class was staring at Hinata and giving her dirty looks every now and then; including Sakura.

"Aw I'm so jealous…" Hinata murmured to herself, loud enough for Sasuke to hear it. Hinata looked at Sasuke and pointed outside the window. "Those birds…when they're babies, they're so pampered by their parents. I'm jealous…" Hinata said in a sad tone. Sasuke looked outside and also stared while saying nothing in response.

"When is Iruka gonna come?" Naruto whined out loud. One of his classmates which were sitting behind him shrugged and said they didn't now. "Bahhh…" Naruto got up and left his seat to go and hang out with Kiba.

Hinata looked down at her hands which were rested on her lap and felt disappointed that Naruto moved from her left. Another classmate filled in the seat that Naruto had left to be closed enough to talk to those that were sitting behind him. "Wow really?" He said excitedly while listening to the summary of one of the latest action movies.

"Yea, it was so awesome. It had all these cool moves!" One of the boys that were sitting behind got off their seat to show some kind of move they saw in the movie. The person sitting next to Hinata laughed as his friend stood beside him and pretended to punch him in the face. However the punch came really close to his face and due to his reflexes he slid to the side before his friend actually hit him by mistake.

"Ah!" Hinata never expected to be pushed and practically shoved into the arms of none other than Sasuke Uchiha.

"Oh! Sorry about that!" The boy turned to her and apologized, then turned back to the conversation with his friends, leaving Hinata in an odd situation.

Hinata's gaze began to slowly move up to look at Sasuke's face. For a moment she had felt that his arms had automatically wrapped it self around her. However as she looked up and met with his angry eyes, he began to withdraw from the physical contact. Hinata could tell that he was just as embarrassed as she was.

_How did this happen!? Oh no! Naruto is going to take this the wrong way if I don't sit up!_

Hinata's face began to turn into many shades of red as she nervously moved her hand and placed it on the desk in order to lean back up with its support. Sasuke moved his hands and placed it on her shoulders; gently pushing her back. But the surprise and suspense did not stop there; Hinata's hand that was on the desk began to become sweaty, which caused her to slip. Since the poor nervous wreck was still so close to Sasuke, she had slipped forward again and Sasuke somehow tried to stop it by moving his hands forward and catching her by the shoulder to push her back. However the distance was still too close, for her lips came in contact with his…

_Her lips are so soft… _Sasuke found him self thinking something that was actually out of his character. At first his eyes had been wide opened when this kiss happened by accident. He could see her eyes were opened too. Suddenly he saw Hinata had closed her eyes and she did nothing to move away and he felt her weight was pushing her more forward. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the physical contact he was having with Hinata. However…something began to feel wrong. Why would Hinata kiss him for this long…?

"Hinata!" It was Kiba's voice. Sasuke finally pushed her back as gently as possible and realized his suspicion was true; Hinata had fainted right after they first kissed.

---


	3. Chapter 3: Staying away from him!

**Chapter 3: Staying away from him!**

A few weeks has already past since Hinata fainted in Sasuke's arms while kissing him...

Ever since then she avoid Naruto since Sasuke will always be around him. The young Hyuuga sighed and couldn't get over her trauma. She was supposed to save Naruto from having that bad misfortune yet it ended like that. At least she didn't end up kissing a girl; Hinata would say to herself and laugh it off. Now about the kiss…It was something that caught her off guard. Even now as she stares up at the morning clouds while walking to meet with Shino and Kiba, Hinata can still feel the touch of his soft lips linger.

_I wonder what he's up to…I hope Naruto is not giving him too much trouble. I wish I could ask myself why I'm thinking about Sasuke so much, and fall into a stage of denial…But I know I am somehow attracted to him. If Naruto really is my true love, then why did I feel that big spark when our lips met…sigh oh Sasuke I hate this. _

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura just returned to the village after yet another mission that was completed. Kakashi had excused himself and left to meet with the Hokage to give him a report about the mission. And so that leaves the three young teen to go around and relax, to wait out for another mission to show up.

Naruto was walking ahead with undying excitement while Sasuke trailed behind; wondering about what he was going to do for the rest of the day. Naruto turned around and sweatdropped after he saw the long gap between him and Sasuke.

"HEY SASUKE! STOP SULKING BACK THERE BECAUSE YOUR GIRLFRIEND WON'T TALK TO YOU!" Naruto yelled while laughing. Sakura got mad and veins were popping out of her forehead.

"IDIOT SHE'S NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND IT WAS JUST A MISUNDERSTANDING GET OVER IT!" Sakura yelled even though Naruto was next to her. Sasuke began to pick up his pace and glared at his teammates.

_Pft when is he gonna let go of something that happened and didn't mean anything._

"Haha it seems that fate is trying to fix your relationship Sasuke." Naruto continued to tease Sasuke after he noticed Hinata was with her teammates and they were walking towards his direction. Sasuke had his hands inside his pockets and looked up ahead with a scowl and glared at Hinata.

"Hinata if you want to change direction by all mean speak up. It seems team 7 will cross our path." Shino spoke calmly. Hinata shook her head and noticed Sasuke glaring at her.

"No, I think it's time I talk to him." Hinata said while going a little ahead of her teammates.

"Okay." Shino replied. Kiba followed quietly, and Hinata seem to notice this always happened when Naruto and Sasuke were around.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto greeted excitedly.

"N-Naruto h-hi" Hinata bowed and Sakura stood next to Sasuke and rolled her eyes at Hinata's formalities.

"How are things going? Maybe we should catch up; you won't believe all the stories I have! My missions were so awesome! Believe it!" Hinata began to blush and poked her fingers together.

_N-Naruto is asking to hang out with me! I-I'm so happy!_

"U-Um…I can't hang out with you right now. I hope you have a nice day. But…" Hinata turned her eyes and shyly looked up at Sasuke. "I-I need to talk to Sasuke…If that's okay with him…" Hinata finished. She admired herself for not fainting again with embarrassment. But she felt she needed to make peace with both Sasuke and Sakura.

"Hn. Whatever." Sasuke replied coldly. Hinata smiled at him and tried her best to ignore the tension in the air.

"Um Shino, Kiba, thank you guys for helping me train today." Hinata faced her team and excused herself. She walked off and behind her followed a grumpy looking Sasuke.

"Grrrr…." Sakura looked as though she was about to bark and then bite everyone's head off. Naruto walked slowly towards Sakura, telling her to calm down.

Hinata and Sasuke had been walking around the village for about fifteen minutes yet Hinata have not spoken a word to him. Sasuke walked beside her and didn't rush Hinata because he was feeling kind of nervous of what she might say to him. For some reason this whole situation was bothering him so much, usually when he was mean and cold to any girl, he never bothered to care about their feelings. At that moment Sasuke's cheek turned slightly pink after he recalled the way her lips had felt against his. It has been now twenty minutes of silence and it was beginning to eat him away. Sasuke stopped walking and Hinata paused to look at him.

"I don't see the point of this. Are we just having a regular walk?" Sasuke asked. He just realized they were walking aimlessly around Konoha and the quietness was getting on his nerves.

"U-um…there's isn't much for me to say…" Right now they were at the park, near a playground. "I've been r-rehearsing something in my mind…but it sti-still won't come out right." Sasuke raised his eyebrow and looked amused. Is it true that all this time she was just trying to figure out what to say to him? Sasuke's smirk didn't come off his face and this made Hinata confused. "B-But Sasuke…um I also wanted to apologize for…not apologizing earlier. I'm sorry!" Hinata bowed asking for forgiveness.

"Is that all?" Sasuke asked. Hinata looked hurt for a moment.

"I know I may have just wasted thirty minutes of your life that you may not get back ever again…" Hinata said softly. She sounded sad. The last thing Sasuke wanted was for this girl to start crying in front of him.

"You know Hyuuga, you're very amusing." Sasuke stepped close to her and patted her head as a way to tease her childish behavior.

"HMPH I'm glad I'm just an amusement to you!" Hinata's tone told him clearly that she was getting upset for being toyed with. Sasuke's smirk disappeared as he withdrew his hand and stuffed it back inside his pockets.

"Do you regret it?" Sasuke asked. Hinata was completely confused about the question. He could be referring to so many things.

"R-Regret?" She asked, feeling uncertain.

"Yes. Regret" Hinata's eyes widen the moment her eyes met his. "You don't have to be afraid of being honest. I won't be hurt by something that I don't even feel." Somehow hearing Sasuke say he didn't care about her made her feelings sink.

"…I don't think I…I'm not sure if I don't regret it." _After all, I was saying my first kiss for Naruto…_ Sasuke nodded at Hinata's reply. "U-Um what about you?" Hinata asked, somehow knowing what the answer was going to be.

"I don't regret it." He said.

_Huh? W-What!? _Hinata was actually taken back because she didn't expect this…

"B-But you just said you won't be hurt by something you don't feel?" Hinata reminded him that he recently said he didn't care.

"Hn" _How is it possible to regret it when the feeling still lingers_? Sasuke was trying not to give too much away. He wasn't about to tell her he enjoyed kissing her. It just seemed so wrong.

"EH?" Hinata wasn't sure if she misunderstood what he was trying to say.

"No you're not misunderstanding." Sasuke said as if he was reading her mind. He was enjoying messing with her thoughts. Sasuke stepped closer to Hinata and stared down at her confused and shocked expression. "Idiot it's really not that difficult." Sasuke enjoyed this teasing game but sighed and pretended to be annoyed.

"You think it isn't difficult! B-But for me it is, it's so hard to tell when I can't read your expression!" Sasuke patted her head again and got even closer this time, his forehead pressing against hers.

"What I'm about to say, I don't want it come as a surprise to you…" Sasuke said quietly. Hinata was trying her hardest not to faint because having a male so close to her it's just too overwhelming. Not only that, but it seems like he was just about to confess to her, from the way things were going.

"W-What…?"Hinata's stutter began to get worst by the minute.

"I…"

"Yes…?"

"…Think girls are so annoying." Small tears clouded Hinata's vision and later fell down each side of her cheek after Sasuke said this. Hinata took many steps back and turned away.

"No…I'm not surprised. I'm sorry Uchiha…I will never bother you again." Hinata turned away and started to walk. Her knees suddenly felt weak, and she didn't know how she was supposed to deal with this growing feeling of disappointment.

_Why didn't I see this coming…? I thought Sasuke needed to be saved; just like I almost lost myself…He's so difficult to work with. He was right; it wasn't that difficult to see it. He was only playing around with my confused feelings and emotions! Sasuke how I hate you so much!_

A knock came to Hinata's door and it was the maid asking Hinata if she was coming down for dinner. Hinata refused to leave her room and she stayed in bed that night, thinking that maybe she shouldn't have tried to stop Sasuke and Naruto from sharing an uncomfortable moment that would have haunted them for the rest of their lives.

-----

Over the course of time, the dreams Hinata had each time she closed her eyes to sleep were becoming pieces of what has taken place in the future. Sometimes Hinata would sit down and take out her journal and write down the new details she noticed. The young girl was beginning to feel as though she's taking this for granted. In the dreams she saw, Hinata saw that she was overflowing with self confidence and taking pride in the Jutsu she had created that defined her fighting style.

Other than that, the young Hyuuga heiress started to keep herself occupied with studies of healing Jutsus or participating in missions. She was naturally growing stronger.

Every now and then her mind would unconsciously drift into thoughts of a certain blue-eyed teen she adored. After Hinata's feelings were hurt by Sasuke, the girl became afraid of his ability to manipulate her feelings in such a way. She vaguely recalls the many times where she would bump into him on the streets of Konoha and smiled at him kindly and walk away as if nothing had really happened between the two.

_Its better this way…That way I can avoid making a fool out of myself in front of him._

Hinata was idly playing with a few locks of hair while sitting in front of her desk. She was going over the Hyuuga scrolls which contained information about healing Jutsus.

Hinata seemed to have forgotten to close her door, and so it was left open. Her father happened to walk by paused for a moment to look inside. From his point of view, Hinata looked highly absorbed into her studies.

Hiashi was beginning to reflect upon Hinata's behavior for past few months. Her behavior made her became a stranger to him. He doesn't understand how come his daughter has changed so randomly. He remembered that the night before she started behaving differently, he was scolding her and reminding her not to bring shame upon the Hyuuga clan. Even though he knows he's been very cold, he misses the old Hinata who would try to socialize a lot with the clan; making the place feel peaceful.

However, Hinata became distant and kept to herself. Hiashi used to see her eyes were pleading for his acceptance every time he would look down at her with a scold. Now, he can't even read much of her thoughts and her expression. His daughter was frequently wrapped up into her calculating thoughts. Yes, calculating, for each time he looked her in the eyes, she seemed to be often calculating something…and it frighten him.

Hiashi knocked on Hinata's door even though it was already opened. Usually he doesn't need to ask anyone for permission to come into a room, but Hiashi decided to try and be slightly gentle with Hinata.

Hinata's eyebrow were twitching and glaring at the scrolls; she was trying to understand fully all of its information. The girl paused to look behind her, and there she saw her father asking for permission to come inside, by knocking.

"Oh!" Hinata got up her seat and was putting all the scrolls back in place. "Father, good evening" Hinata stood before him and bow with respect.

"Hinata, my daughter, what might you be up to?" Hiashi asked, and eyed all the scrolls. In fact he didn't even know what she was trying to learn; she stopped letting anyone in. Especially those who didn't show interest in her like her father.

"Oh! T-This, well…I'm trying to learn a few healing Jutsus, that way I wont get in anyone's way. Though if I do…with my healing knowledge I can deal with the situation without holding anyone back, father." Hinata said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. However, this gained a frown from Hiashi.

"Healing Jutsus, I think that's fine. I was never particularly involved with it because I disliked Chemistry." Hiashi said, as though he was trying to lighten the mood.

"I dislike Chemistry too, b-but I want to be so very h-helpful" Hinata's stuttering habits did not originate from her nervous breakdown; it was actually part of Hinata's speech problem which she has been working hard to get over.

"Do you have a mentor that helps you with this particular field?" Hiashi asked. He remembers Kurenai haven't told Hiashi about Hinata's interests.

"Um…no I was going to ask for help, but I don't want to be a burden to anyone, or bring shame to the family." For some reason, it was now beginning to make him feel remorse inside; to have to listen to his own daughter degrading herself.

"I'll see what I can do about that. I will personally look for someone to help you expand your knowledge in this field." Hiashi said softly.

"F-Father that's not necessary, you don't have to waste your time like this when you could just be training my little sister Hanabi. Since s-she isn't a disgrace like-"Hinata placed her hand on the left side of her cheek after being slapped across her face. She slowly looked up and met with the eyes of her father, looking down on her with his angry eyes. She then looked back down; her bangs were covering her eyes, and only dark shadows could be seen.

_Why…? I didn't mean to sound like I was defying him…why…? I will not cry in front of him. Not one tear will be shed in his presence because he'll only think I'm weak…_

"Don't ever speak to your father and your elder like that Hinata. It's very offending not only to you but to me. I never meant for you to start believing that you're weak. Don't ever let anyone else hear those words that lack so much confidence." Hiashi's strict tone could actually be mistaken for uncaring and cold. He turned around and paused before he exited Hinata's room. "I will speak with the elders and begin to look for a mentor suited for you." Hiashi said, and left her there.

Hinata was left there feeling a bit puzzled over her father's action. No matter how upset she made her father, he never ever raised his hand before to actually hit her. Maybe he didn't mean to hurt her, maybe it was a wake up call for Hinata, to stop thinking that his father always had negative thoughts about her. Hinata walked to her window and opened it, letting the breeze caress her cheek that was turning very red, with the mark of a hand. She sighed loudly and turned to look at the time.

_I can't go and join them for dinner like this…_

Hinata figured she'll stay here and eat in the company of her thoughts. She stayed locked up inside her room that night. And as Hiashi walked by her room, he paused to glace at her closed door with a worried frown.

"Hinata…"

---


	4. Chapter 4: Classic Denial

**Chapter 4: Classic Denial**

"We finally get a short break from missions, unless something urgent shows up." Kiba took off his jacket and began to stretch. Summer was finally showing its presence because today the weather was sunny and hot. Shino looked around, his eyes hiding behind his glasses, he was making sure he was letting his bugs out to relax and interact with nature and be free. "WHEEEEE!" A loud splash was heard from Kiba; he was swimming in the river and splashing around while his puppy Akamaru running around smelling trees.

"When is Hinata coming?" Shino asked, and walked to lean against a tree.

"She's probably running late! With her strict family and all-"Kiba's nose twitched and he smelled Hinata's scent. "Never mind she's almost here!" Kiba yelled with excitement, while swimming.

"Then again, if you look around, we're the first one here." Shino noted.

_Ugh how did I get dragged into this!_

Hinata was running in attempt to get there on time. For the last couple of weeks it's been so busy, but finally the Genins get a break from mission and harsh training. Hinata sighed as she vaguely recalls that it was Tenten's idea to have a little reunion even though most of them see one another every day. In her hands she tried to balance four baskets filled with lunch for the event. Hinata wasn't sure just who was going, so she made as many snacks as she could.

Hinata ran through the forest and finally stopped at the meeting spot. The place was surrounded by trees and grass and many other plants. She smiled and felt her heart skip happy beats because of her excitement. Today she might be able to have a romantic evening with Naruto. The setting seemed perfect. The main attraction of this meeting place was the huge river and its waterfall.

"HINATA!" Hinata saw Kiba get out of the river and waving.

"KIBA!" Hinata yelled back, she looked around to see if she saw Shino while approaching the river.

"Hi Hinata." Shino took Hinata by surprise which caused her to drop the baskets.

"Ah! I didn't notice you there Shino, p-please don't do that!" Hinata said, bending down and picking up the baskets with embarrassment.

"When do you ever notice…?" Shino replied, he sounded like he was sulking. Hinata giggled and went to take her spot under a tree, and began to set up a big tablecloth over the grass. She looked around after she was done and watched her two teammates interact.

Kiba and Shino were not in their usual attire. Kiba was sitting by the river in his long dark red swimming trunks, while Shino had some comfortable jeans and a white shirt. Hinata looked down at clothes; she couldn't decide what to really wear. She ended up wearing a light purple skirt with yellow tank top, and some white sandals. Her hair was up in a pony tail with a yellow ribbon.

"Hinata aren't you gonna swim?" Hinata looked over at Kiba and blushed.

"U-Um maybe later, it's too early for that" Kiba looked disappointed for a moment, and just then more people began to show up.

"This reunion is so troublesome…" Shikamaru was lying on the grass and staring at the clouds; his hair was finally down and no longer looked like a pineapple for today.

"Shikamaru, that's so you." Hinata hadn't really moved from her spot since everyone arrived, she was just happy watching. It's not like she could do much, because Neji and Sasuke were "forced" into coming here. Therefore she got even more discourage in trying to pursue Naruto and spend time with him alone. She knows he wants to be around Sakura.

"Bah, I'm gonna take a nap, tell no one to bother me." Hinata laughed at Shikamaru's attitude towards this reunion and let him be. Her eyes turned to Naruto, and she watched him chase Sakura around in her green bathing suit and splash her around in the river. Even if Naruto thought he was getting on Sakura's nerve, she was able to see the pink hair girl enjoyed the attention.

On the other side of the river, she was surprised to see Ino and Kiba hanging out. Shino was the only one who sat by her to keep her company. Even Choji was having fun, stuffing himself with junk food and holding up a conversation with Lee. Tenten and her cousin Neji seemed to be arguing about something. However, Sasuke was the only one Hinata saw was missing. She didn't want to activate her Byakugan and even convinced herself she didn't care at all.

Hinata decided that standing up and stretching a bit wouldn't hurt. She turned to Shino and told him that she was going to go for a walk. He nodded, fully understanding what could be going through her mind. That's why he decided not to ask if he could join, he already had a suspicion that Hinata was probably going to look for him…That Sasuke.

"It's almost time for the s-snack. I-I should go and get Sasuke." Hinata felt the need to explain to Shino so he wouldn't misunderstand.

Hinata began to walk away from the rest of the group and even ignored Kiba, who was shouting and asking where she was headed.

_Today's mission will be to check on Sasuke to make sure he hasn't run away from the village and betrayed us._

In a way, Hinata was growing paranoid. She couldn't feel Sasuke's chakra as she looked around for him. Finally, when she didn't find him near by, she activated her Byakugan and sighed because she was relieved he was still around.

_I'm glad to see he still hasn't betrayed Konoha…I can't believe he would fall asleep in a forest._

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and felt satisfied now that she knew Sasuke was around. She began to walk in the direction she came from to go back to the rest of the group. However something held her back from walking any further away. Hinata paused in the middle of the forest because she was having an internal debate, about whether or not she should check and see if Sasuke was alright.

_It's been months since I really last talked to him…I don't want him to think I probably couldn't keep my word by staying away from him.._

Hinata turned around and marched straight towards the path that lead to Sasuke. She was mad at herself for being the kind of person that worries too much about other people.

_I'm just going to ask him if he wants to join us for the picnic. Yea…I'll make it sound like I was forced to come and get him._

She found him under a big tree, lying down on the grass with his eyes closed. The wind began to pick up and the leaves from the trees began to make a sound. Hinata tried her best to be careful with her foot steps as to not wake him up. She was now standing in front of him, watching him sleep.

_I guess not everyone looks peaceful while they sleep…_

Hinata thought to herself while watching Sasuke's trouble expression, while sleeping.

_Sigh what am I even doing here…? My heart won't even help me calm down._

Hinata kneeled to Sasuke's side and was tempted to brush his hair out of the way. Or even strangle him and make it seem like a missing Nin had attacked and killed him. Well since Sasuke had let his guard down, all these choices were so tempting however unlikely to occur.

She sat carefully next to him, and hugged her knees to her chest and stayed quiet. She has been away from the rest of the group, and she hopes people wont notice. Of course they would, first Sasuke, now her…They might assume something bad about the two.

_Ugh Neji is there…I hope he doesn't come looking for me. I actually feel at peace here…_

Hinata began to feel a bit sleepy and she turned to look at Sasuke again. Now the big question was; what was she doing here? As much as Hinata tries to convince herself that Sasuke means nothing to her, that didn't stop her from inching closer to his side. Hinata's logical thinking was forgotten because she was beginning to do irrational things.

She lean over Sasuke's body and closed her eyes, while inching closer to kiss him. Hinata didn't notice that a few strands of hair fell and touched his cheek; immediately waking him up before anything happened.

"What are you doing?" Hinata opened her eyes and her body froze after hearing Sasuke's voice. Crap she was caught!

"N-Nothing!" Hinata pulled back and her clumsiness made Sasuke want to smirk.

"Really?" He asked in a knowing tone. "Could it be that…?" Sasuke sat up and turned to Hinata, and a smirk formed on his face. "…Hinata's a perv?" A flashback of some Hentai graphic novel he caught Kakashi reading came into Sasuke's mind. _Damn you Kakashi for introducing us young people to those ridiculous adult material._

"W-WHAT!?" Although the young teen was surprised by getting caught, she blinked because it was the first time she had actually heard him say her name. Hinata looked at the ground and began to blush and it was becoming hard to come up with a plan to escape this situation.

Sasuke sat up and waited for Hinata to explain herself. His onyx eyes trailed to Hinata's eyes and then lower, to her lips. She was biting her lips and he figured that was one of her nervous habit. But seriously, why had she tried to kiss him? Don't tell me she was playing one of those "Double Dare" games!

"Were you playing one of those dumb juvenile games and got caught in a dare?" Hinata ignore Sasuke's smirk, and she looked away and for a moment she felt relieved inside.

_Haha of course! I should have thought of that! _"Um y-yea…I told N-Naruto I did-didn't want to p-play…" Hinata was taught that lying was a very bad thing while growing up. However she couldn't help herself but to lie her way out of this situation…

"Naruto, that idiot; I'll be sure to get him for this" Sasuke replied, believing Hinata's lie. "But catching me off guard was just too low, even for a Hyuuga." Hinata doesn't know how she is able to blush so much and yet remain conscious. She was sure she should have most likely fainted by now.

"N-No! Its okay S-Sasuke just f-forget about it! I-I also came to get you so you could join us for the picnic…" Hinata's heart was skipping very fast beats because she feared her lie would be discovered, and then she will live life in complete shame.

"You sure are a chicken. You can't even fulfill one simple dare." Hinata turned her eyes and stared at Sasuke. She continued to just stare after being left dumbstruck by Sasuke's statement. He couldn't possibly mean that he would allow himself be kissed again by Hinata?

"S-Simple!? I-I don't s-see how this dare is "Simple"!" Hinata felt very angry inside. However this anger was mostly directed at herself for creating these situations she had no control over. Sasuke raised one of his eyebrows as he questioned her reaction.

"It's not like we haven't kissed before." When Hinata blushes, it's usually most noticeable on her cheek. But this time even her ears and neck were red, especially after watching Sasuke inch close to her.

"P-Please don't mention t-that incident." Even though Hinata stuttered, there was nothing shy about her reply. Sasuke was able to catch the frustration in her tone.

"It didn't mean anything." Sasuke confused Hinata's frustration for something else so he thought he should clear things out and let her know that kiss didn't mean a thing; therefore it shouldn't be taken as such a big deal.

"A kiss is supposed to be shared by two people w-who have feelings for one another…" Hinata said slowly. "It's why fulfilling the d-dare is not s-simple. S-So I shouldn't do it!" Sasuke sighed, he didn't know why he didn't let go of this topic and just drop it or change subject. He didn't understand why he kept being persistent.

"But it's a dare, and if you don't do it Naruto is going to continue to bother you about it. No one is going to get hurt. We both know we don't like each other." Haha yea right! Sasuke was lost in the depth of what is known as the last stage of denial. Meanwhile, Hinata was in the same boat as him. Watching two people living in denial can be so amusing!

"I-I guess y-you're right. It won't mean anything…" _because I have a feeling it will mean everything…_

Sasuke moved to sit in front of her of Hinata, and the young teen waited anxiously.

On the outside Sasuke looked like he knew what he was doing, however inside of his mind he was freaking out because he wasn't exactly experienced in kissing a girl. In fact, Hinata was the only girl who kissed him, and he can't really call that a relevant experience! (Because Hinata fainted right when their lips touched)

"U-Um Sasuke I don't really know how to kiss…" Hinata's voice shattered Sasuke's doubts.

"Hn, just close your eyes and wait." Hinata nodded and complied with Sasuke's direction. Sasuke stared at Hinata's face while her eyes were closed. He hesitated a bit but decided is now or never. Sasuke leaned forward and tilted his head slightly so he won't bump into her nose.

Hinata had her eyes closed, staring into darkness until suddenly she felt something really soft brush her lips. She knew this had to be Sasuke kissing her because in the back of her mind, his lips felt so familiar. Hinata wasn't sure of how to kiss back because this was so new to her, but she decided to move her arms around Sasuke's neck while he hugged her around her waist.

These two teen were in the middle of the forest, too wrapped up into one another and failed to remember that the "purpose" of this kiss was to complete Naruto's "dare".

In the end, Hinata became aware of something that frightened her. The first time she shared a kiss with Sasuke, she felt some sort of spark from it. Hinata shrugged it off because she thought it had something to do with it being her first kiss.

But right now, as she kissed Sasuke, she realized that spark was not just a misunderstanding. It was official; Hinata had a crush on him.

Sasuke on the other hand had been also a fool to think that this was something "harmless" which wouldn't "hurt" anyone since they didn't have any "feelings" for one another. Right after Hinata pulled away from the kiss, but leaving her arms around the neck, she stared at Sasuke and had the same confused look he had.

"Y-You d-didn't feel anything right?" Hinata was the one who spoke first.

"No, you?" Sasuke hid his smile as he pulled away from their little embrace.

"Not a t-thing at all." Hinata replied, she was lying through her teeth.

"Good, now we should go back before anyone comes to find us." Hinata agreed and allowed herself to be pulled by Sasuke's hand. Her legs felt a bit numb.

"Y-Yea I-I agree…" And so these two went back and joined the others at the picnic that had already started without Hinata even being there. Hinata doesn't know if she should be relieved or just insulted. After all she was the one who prepared them! Oh well~

-----

That evening, Sasuke and Hinata found themselves sitting in the office, in front of the 3rd Hokage. The 3rd Hokage was looking at the two with disapproval and seemed very displeased.

"I saw everything that transpired between the two you." The Hokage stated and he made a hand gesture pointing at the crystal ball on his desk. "Hinata, that was very inappropriate and unlady-like. You're the heir of the Hyuuga clan; it is your duty to avoid these things from occurring; these scandals." As he spoke, Hinata looked down at the floor and began to feel annoyed. "Now Sasuke, I understand you live alone. But it seems I have to take you into my care and watch over you to make sure the two of you will understand that these things are absurd and wrong." Hinata's eyes widen and she turned to look at Sasuke and apologized but stopped after she saw him look at her with hatred in his eyes.

"Alright, now dismiss." Hinata got up and left the 3th's office and walked slowly behind Sasuke. The young Uchiha paused and turned to her, fuming.

"Please stay away from me. You're so annoying!" Hinata paused in the middle of her steps and her face began to look like a ghost. She went pale at such display of emotions. She tried to search in Sasuke's eyes to see if he actually meant it, and couldn't find anything that gave him away.

"Okay…" _My heart, it hurts so much…_

Hinata stood there in daze for she was stunned by how this perfect reunion became the day where Sasuke hated her enough to ask her to stay away from him.

_I wonder if he really meant it…I also wonder if I should really stay away from him before his feelings consume my entire heart. I really just want to love Naruto. The longer I delay my confession, the harder it is to protect my feelings and remain faithful to Naruto…_

_---_


	5. Chapter 5: Patching His Pride

**Chapter 5: Patching his pride **

"Every encounter I have with Sasuke, led me to some awkward situations. In the end, he treats me even more cold than he did before" Hinata has been keeping quiet about her thoughts and feelings. A few weeks went by since Sasuke told Hinata to leave him alone. "Then t-this and th-that happened, and now I don't know what to think. I-I lied to him and said t-the kiss didn't have any effect on m-me."

Today when Hinata was doing some grocery shopping for a special bento she wanted to make for Naruto, she bumped into Tenten. The two began to have a conversation since Tenten had the day off. The young teen with brown hair that was up in two buns invited Hinata to hang out with her that evening. Now Hinata currently found herself in Tenten's room having a girl talk.

"I think Sasuke is such a jerk. I just don't see what the other girls saw in him, aside his looks." Tenten said. She was organizing her weapons and scrolls, getting them ready in case of a mission.

"But I shouldn't be one to judge. It actually reminds me of how Neji used to behave with me." Tenten confessed. She noticed the look of surprise in Hinata's eyes. She figured she misunderstood something.

"No it was nothing like what happened between you and Sasuke." Tenten reassured the heiress, however there was a light blush on Tenten's cheeks.

"Anyways…Neji, he's such a mystery to me. I get fascinated by mysteries and so I challenged myself to figure him out." Tenten said. "He attempted to push me away, and became even meaner to me. But after he saw his attempts weren't working, he just ignored me. Haha but that didn't work either; gradually he began to accept me as his friend, not just a teammate." Hinata was trying to comprehend what Tenten might be implying. The heiress almost rolled her eyes when Tenten kept going on and on about Neji that almost forgot what the point of this conversation was.

"So…um…but…Sasuke keeps saying that I'm annoying." Tenten laughed and walked over to sit next to Hinata.

"Listen Hinata guys like Sasuke would lie all the time, to keep their true feelings to themselves. Plus, he wants to be a ninja. He probably thinks that showing emotions and affections will make him weak and soft." Hinata replied with an "ah…" as if she understood what Tenten was trying to say.

"But, since you claim to be in love with Naruto you shouldn't waste your time trying to befriend Sasuke." Tenten said in a teasing tone.

"Um…I'm going to admit to you that…maybe there is something about Sasuke…" Hinata blushed and looked away from Tenten's grin. "Something that maybe…draws me to him?" Tenten began to laugh at Hinata because she was unable to see that Sasuke was the one she loves, not Naruto.

"Hinata, this is not the time to hide behind your Hyuuga home and avoid Sasuke. You need to sort out your feelings as soon as possible before anyone gets hurt. Now go out there and be the most annoying person you can be Hinata, go make Sasuke loose his sanity!" Hinata got up from Tenten's bed and threw up a punch in the air.

"Y-Yea!" Hinata paused and looked at Tenten confused. "Wa-wait what?" Tenten began to roll on the bed and laugh.

"Haha N-Nothing! You're so Haha cute!" Tenten got up to stretch. "Well anyways its time to get you home, too bad your dad didn't let you sleep over." Hinata sighed and agreed with Tenten.

---

The next day, Hinata woke up, feeling her throat and chest was in pain as she stumbled forward to glace at her clock because she noticed her room was too bright. It was almost around noon and she felt upset. Why hadn't anyone wake her up? She went to sleep the previous day, thinking of making a bento for Naruto and watch him train today, but now plans has changed.

Hinata took out her journal and began to write about today's dream. In her dream, there was an exam coming up called the Chunin exams and it seems that her opponent was none other than her own cousin Neji. Last night Neji was sent to escort Hinata back home, to the Hyuuga compound, and as they walk in silence, Hinata could see that he didn't enjoy her company much.

Now about the Chunin exam…During that event Neji openly shows the hatred he has for her and nearly kills her. It seems that much afterward after it's over, her father Hiashi gives Neji the letter in where his twin brother explains that he was the one who chose to take Hiashi's place to save him. Hinata sighed and rubbed her throbbing temples, she was developing a headache.

_I was thinking that maybe I should try to tell Neji that his father wasn't forced by the main House…But then again its best if maybe I don't tell him because by the time the Chunin exams comes, and when we face one another, he might not be able to fight me. Maybe I should let him hate me for a little while, because I don't know for sure what the result might be._

Hinata was having these thoughts as she walked to the bathroom and prepared herself a bath. She didn't want to bother her maid with such an easy task that can be done by her self.

It was about an hour later that Hinata saw Neji approach her to inform her that her father wanted her in his office. Hinata made her way there and knocked before entering. Her eyes widen after watching a woman with blond hair turned her head and greet her. This woman had brown golden eyes and purple diamond shape tattoo on her forehead.

"Good afternoon father, greetings lady Tsunade" Hinata bowed with respect and walked forward to sit next to the woman.

"Ah so this is Hinata. Well she seems to already know something about me." The woman grinned and turned back to Hiashi. However, Hinata was confused as to why she was here.

"Daughter, I apologize it took some time to find the appropriate teacher for you. But I finally found Tsunade who agreed to be your mentor; she's highly skilled in the arts of healing." Hinata's eyes widen once again. Tsunade was the future Hokage who also takes Sakura as a student and turns her into a very strong ninja.

"F-Father, thank you" Hinata smiled while her thoughts nervously wondered if she was changing events too drastically.

"I will take my leave now, your training will start somewhere around next week. It's been so long since I've been back to Konoha." Tsunade got up and excused herself.

"Take care lady Tsunade" Hinata said before her mentor left. "Father…" Hinata turned her attention to Hiashi again. "I almost thought you had forgotten, thank you for finding her." She thanked him. Hiashi nodded with a ghost smile before telling her to dismiss.

----

Later during the afternoon, Hinata was practically skipping around the streets of Konoha and humming to herself, for she was so happy. She couldn't find her teammates therefore decided to spend her day walking around and looking for something to do, or someone to hang out with. It just so happened that she was walking by the Hokage's tower and something told her to shift directions and go towards the training grounds that was nearby. There, she stopped in her tracks to see none other than Sasuke; he was being trained by the 3rd Hokage.

The Hokage was sparring with Sasuke, and training him during his spare time right after Sasuke moved in to live with him. Hinata didn't have any knowledge of this because she can be kind of slow when it comes to updates. The 3rd Hokage noticed that Sasuke became aware of Hinata's presence and dropped some of his guard, and left an opening because of the distraction Hinata had caused. The Hokage moved and attacked Sasuke when he left an opening and he was sent flying across the training field and rolling on the ground.

"That's enough for the day; you may take a break now." The Hokage stated in his calm voice and walked off to return to his paper work.

Hinata couldn't stand there and just watch so she ran over to Sasuke who was badly beaten on the ground. When she kneeled down beside him to help him up, he slapped her hand away and struggled to get up.

"Please don't touch me." He said coldly, and this made her sigh. Hinata figured it also had something to do with his pride; since she just witnessed him get beat up so easily by the Hokage.

"Alright, at least let me help with you're wounds." Hinata's voice was soft and low because she was becoming shy right now.

"No thanks. I will tend to my own wounds." He stood up and it was obvious that he was in pain. Sasuke went to take a step forward, but she could see he was trying so hard not to limp. "Besides, there's nothing useful about you."

"You're wrong!" Something came over Hinata, and she stood in front of Sasuke; blocking his path. He saw her lift her hand and grab him by the arm, and led him to some benches near by. He allowed himself to be pulled only because he was too tired. Once near the benches, he plopped down and took a seat.

Hinata summoned some chakra and Sasuke became curious when he watched her trying to concentrate on something. Hinata moved both of her hands and placed them over his knees. They began to glow green and Sasuke figured that this was some kind of healing Jutsu because his knees slowly started to feel a lot better. Sasuke continue to stay quiet and watch her face look so focused and determined. She moved her hand and placed them later on his chest, and the green glow of chakra was helping his stomach, arms and neck become much more relaxed.

"Hyuuga" Sasuke broke the silence because this girl just confused him so much. She continued to work and replied with an "Hm?" so Sasuke went ahead and asked her. "Hn I didn't ask for your help."

"I know…" She continued to work on healing some of his nasty injuries, her eyes didn't move away from his wounds because she wanted to avoid his gaze. Hinata started to remember what Tenten told her about Sasuke. Maybe he was just afraid of letting anyone in. If that's the case, Hinata shouldn't let his cold attitude get to her. Besides it's not like he's mean to her all the times. Aw how she remembers that heated moment at the forest, when she melted into his arms and-OKAY she's really getting too distracted and didn't seem to be aware that Sasuke had been trying to tell her something.

Sasuke didn't know what was wrong with this girl. He tried to tell her several times to stop healing him because he felt fine now. But she didn't seem to react and just continue to heal him while her eyes look distant. He had enough of this girl zoning out on him and he grabbed both of Hinata's hands. His assumptions were right; she looked up at him with surprise.

"I said to stop. I'm fine now." Sasuke decided to repeat himself once he saw Hinata was back down on earth.

"Ah! Sorry Sasuke I didn't q-quite hear y-you before." Hinata failed to stop her cheeks from glowing red mostly because he was still holding her hands.

"Hn. What's up with you?" Sasuke doesn't want to stop to question his behavior.

"I-I could still feel m-my head aching." It was true that her head was slightly in pain, but that was her fault for getting too excited about Tsunade being her mentor.

"It's not wise to be out in the sun." He commented. Sasuke didn't stop to think about why Hinata was talking to him, even after he told her to leave him alone. In fact he was grateful she began to talk to him again. He sort of missed her…That time when he was angry, and told her to stay away; it was actually an excuse to distance himself from her.

First, he didn't want anything to do with Hinata because it seems like she was bringing him trouble and he bringing her trouble (He doesn't know what trouble he brings. He's just assuming that she's forcing herself to be nice to him). That is why he found himself living in a house that actually has other human beings in there.

Second, Hinata made him start having these confusing feelings towards her. Sasuke has grown to resent girls his age because while growing up he was left traumatic by many who tried to steal his first kiss at the age of 8.

Third, he doesn't like the fact that he started to feel shy and nervous around her. Sasuke knows he's good at hiding things, but he feels troubled for having these unknown feelings in the first place. He has a suspicion that it had something to do with the time where he kissed her, knowing inside it had nothing to do with a dare.

There was a silence that settled between the two, but Hinata didn't know what to make of it. She didn't feel awkward even as her hands were still being held by his. But what did it mean? Was Sasuke even aware? She opened her mouth to comment on this but decided against it. She wanted to continue to enjoy the warm feeling she felt inside. However…all moments has its end.

"HEY SASUKE!" It was Naruto's voice. Hinata's heart skipped mostly because Sakura was there as well, and the two had seen the way Sasuke and Hinata were holding hands. Hinata's hands were released by Sasuke as he got up and placed his hands inside his pockets.

"What do you want Naruto." Sasuke turned to Naruto and Sakura.

"Haha we came to get you idiot! Don't pretend that you don't know why we're here!" Naruto said, but his high pitch voice made it sound like he was yelling. His blue eyes turned to Hinata who was sitting down on the bench and a grin appeared on his face. "But its fine Sakura and I could go on a date and leave you with your girlfriend." Naruto noticed Sasuke's ear turned red. Hinata on the other hand was blushing endlessly.

"Naruto…" Sakura's voice made Naruto shrink because it sounded like she was threatening him.

"G-Guys, there's n-nothing going on b-between Sasuke and I…" Hinata got up from the bench and started to walk towards the group.

"Oh really!? You guys don't have to hide your relationship! We're your friends, believe it!" Sasuke was beginning to think that Naruto wasn't teasing, that his blonde friend actually believed there was something else…

"Naruto give it a rest. Hinata is just a friend." Hinata's eyes widen.

_I'm his friend…?_

Having Sasuke admit that Hinata was SOMETHING to him was too overwhelming. Hinata struggled to take all of this in and started to feel dizzy.

"S-Sasuke…" Sasuke turned to look at Hinata. He knew something was wrong with her because she looked like she was about to pass out. His instinct made him rush to her side and catch her as she fell.

"HINATA!" Naruto yelled almost like he just witnessed her die in front of him or something. Sakura took out her anger and jealousy on Naruto and so she hit him hard on the back of his head.

"IDIOT, SHE FAINTED, KEEP IT DOWN!" When Sasuke heard Sakura's voice, a vein popped up and he started to feel irritated.

"She fainted because of the heat and sunlight affecting her headache." Sasuke spoke, letting Naruto know that it wasn't that serious.

"Let's take her to the hospital!" Sasuke shook his head at Naruto's suggestion as he picked up Hinata in his arms. He walked outside the training grounds, with his friends following him.

"Sasuke, where are you taking her?" Sakura asked. Sasuke paused and turned to Naruto and Sakura.

"You two go on and train without me, tell Kakashi something showed up" Naruto nodded, but Sakura looked like she was against it.

"But Sasuke we always train together!" Sakura complained.

"Not now Sakura" Sasuke allowed himself to sigh. Naruto could see how much Sasuke cared about Hinata so he decided to pull Sakura by the arm.

"C'mon Sakura!" Sakura sighed and pulled away from Naruto.

"Okay okay!" The two turned and began to walk just as Sasuke pondered about what to do with Hinata. He looked down at her peaceful expression and frowned.

"Why didn't I hand her over to Naruto?" Sasuke asked out loud even though he didn't expect anyone to answer.


	6. Chapter 6: Lies and Needles

**Chapter 6: Lies and Needles**

He watched her small body stir under the blankets; he knew she was finally waking up. A Hyuuga doctor came to check on her earlier and stated that Hinata was fine, she just needed some rest. Neji himself could have figured THAT out. But he just didn't know what could have possibly made her this stressed out. Neji rolled his eyes and started to remember who had brought Hinata home.

Neji had just returned from his mission, and was arriving home in time to see that Sasuke was led inside the mansion, with Hinata in his arms. Neji picked up his pace and began to run, and inside his head, he was already coming up with all sorts of assumptions.

However, it wasn't the fact that Hinata was unconscious the bothered him. It's just that out of all the people in this world, it HAD to be SASUKE to bring her here. Neji remembered quite well when he was hearing all kinds of rumors about Hinata and Sasuke being a couple. It started after the graduation, that while waiting for Iruka to arrive at the class meeting, Hinata and Sasuke had kissed and afterwards Hinata had fainted.

He hated not knowing what was going on with Hinata. He hated her and the fact that she was growing so apart from him. He still wondered if Hinata's hobbies changed, and if she had improved in her training at all. Neji didn't even know if Hinata had a crush on Naruto anymore.

Hinata was changing while he wasn't around. He couldn't be around, he hated her. Why did her father have to be born first? Why did she have to be such a weak heir? He was stronger, she was weaker. Neji thinks that his destiny was actually twisted around, and made HIM become the SLAVE, just to be tortured for the rest of his life.

"Uchiha, what are you doing with Hinata." Neji had caught up with Sasuke, who carried Hinata in his arms. The way he held her in his arms made him look very protective of her. Neji is not going to allow this; Sasuke couldn't possibly be taking HIS job, his duty!

Sasuke turned to look at Neji, as he wondered the same thing.

"She fainted not so long ago. Che, I wasn't sure of what to do so I brought her here." Sasuke replied. Neji dropped his bag, which had ninja supplies in it, on the floor and walked forward, extending his arms.

"Hand over Hinata" Neji said. Coming from him, it was more like a command you had to follow. Not only that, but he made it seem like Hinata was just an inanimate object. Just like in those movies where the bad guys try to rob a bank and yell "Hand over the money!" while pointing guns at people. (But anyways)

"Look, I brought your tiny cousin here. You could at least just show me where to carry her." Sasuke replied. He was refusing to abide with what Neji requested and his excuse was the following:

_Hn I can't trust this guy, the way he looks at Hinata, it is obvious he hates her guts._

"Very well" Neji decided that he shouldn't start an argument right then

"Hn"

Sasuke started to follow Neji as he glanced around the place. Few Hyuugas poked their heads from doors, windows and even corners, and watched the uninvited Sasuke carry Hinata. They all seem to glare at him in disgust, and Sasuke didn't like this feeling. While he was having this discomfort, he looked down after feeling Hinata trying to cling closer to him. In return, he held her closer than before as they made their way across the Hyuuga compound, and into the territory of the Main branch family.

He could tell this was her room. The faint scent of vanilla mixed with lavender matched with Hinata's scent. Sasuke walked inside and walked past Neji, and laid Hinata gently in her bed and backed away from her bed and began to look around. This room perfectly fit the image of Hinata. Everything looked bright and purple, with pretty girly things.

Sasuke watched Neji walk towards and he was assuming that Neji was going to pull the bed covers and tuck her in bed. What he didn't expect was for Neji to start to unzip Hinata's fury jacket, and so his eyes widen in surprise.

Neji stared at Sasuke and raised his eyebrow. "What?" Like his actions were pretty normal.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke demanded an answer

"It's none of your concern. What are you still doing here?" Neji spat back. "Lord Hiashi won't be pleased to know that you brought Hinata here. Do you realize that your actions are only causing trouble for Lady Hinata!?" Okay Sasuke didn't expect Neji to be this angry. Even if Neji hated Hinata, it seems like he still cares about her as a sibling. Neji had unzipped Hinata's jacket and placed it on a chair that was near by, and took Hinata's ninja headband.

"But if you must know, I'm getting a doctor here to examine her. The doctor is a male and I don't think Lady Hinata feels comfortable around a stranger." Neji explained, and as he was leaving Hinata's room, he turns to Sasuke and said:

"Unless you want to be disabled for the rest of your life, don't try anything unintelligent Uchiha." Sasuke had smirked at Neji's comment. He never knew Neji actually cared at all about Hinata.

Sasuke moved to sit on the chair that was located next to Hinata's bed. He leaned back and looked at the ceiling, wondering what in the world was he doing here. No less inside a GIRL'S room, alone with Hinata.

Sasuke's eyes landed on Hinata after he heard a movement coming from the bed.

Hinata slowly sat up in bed, and looked around the room to find Sasuke sitting there. How nice it was of Sasuke to be there as she-Wait, what happened? She doesn't remember much, but she can guess that she fainted again. Ah yes it was all coming back to her. Sasuke had admitted that Hinata was his friend. She couldn't be happier than that. Hinata blushed after notice Sasuke stared at her with his neutral expression.

Sasuke on the other hand was feeling relieved that Hinata's color was coming back to life, specially the blush that always lurk around her cheeks. He is starting to wonder why she blushes so much.

"Hey…" He greeted her. Hinata's expression looked gloomy for some unknown reason.

"Hey…T-Thank you Sasuke, f-for not leaving me abandon in the sun to burn and die." Hinata replied. There was a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"Naruto told me to take care of you." He lied, and she knew he did. Hinata wondered why, but decided to go along with it. It was not like she was able to see through his lie. It's just that when Hinata was in Sasuke's arms, she hadn't complete faint by then. She knew Naruto had said no such thing. But nevertheless Hinata pretended to sound happy about the news.

_Liar._

"A-Ah…well that's so nice of him. I'm g-glad Naruto cares." Hinata looked at her jacket hanging on the side of the chair where Sasuke was seated. She started to feel some kind of panic inside. Sasuke was guessing what was going through her mind.

"It was that other Hyuuga that did it. I had nothing to do with it" Hinata's expression went from panic to fear.

"W-What o-other Hyuuga?" She asked.

"Your cousin" Sasuke saw Hinata let out a sigh of relief. He wondered what was so scary about someone else taking off jacket. Ah…that's right, Neji mentioned something about a doctor. Speaking of Neji, he never really came back. I wonder what happened.

"Oh…" Hinata fidgeted with the blankets.

"Yea…" Sasuke leaned back against the chair again and started to stare somewhere else.

Sasuke wasn't really much of a talkative person. Hinata knew this. And she wasn't one of those bubbly hyper active girls who loved to talk; she was just one the quiet type. So these situation were unavoidable, there will always be some kind of long pause before any of the two decided to say anything.

"Sasuke"

"Hinata"

Both seemingly tried to speak at the same time. Hinata paused and offered her a smile because he had called her Hinata, and not just "Hyuuga".

"Hmm?" All of a sudden Hinata forgot what she was going to ask him. Hinata shook her head and felt embarrassed.

"Nothing…I completely forgot." She confessed. "What were y-you going to say?"

"I'm pretty sure the third Hokage is watching me right now" Sasuke said. This made Hinata feel uncomfortable.

"Since you're inside the Hyuuga residents, it's forbidden for the Hokage to use his c-crystal ball and spy on people. I-I think the same thing applies to e-everyone else." Hinata explained. She stopped fidgeting with the blankets and began to play with her hair. She was very nervous.

"So he won't look inside the privacy of other's home." Sasuke asked, and Hinata nodded as a reply.

"God, that's a relief to know. That old man gets on my nerve sometimes. I was starting to feel paranoid." Hinata laughed after Sasuke said this. She didn't think he was able to utter a sentence without any "Hn" Could it be that Sasuke is starting to be warm up to her? Well he hasn't really shared anything about himself, or his…past.

"Y-Yea, it was c-creepy th-that he even saw us-"Hinata paused before she had finished her stupid sentence. She remembered that Sasuke got really mad at her that time he was forced to move in with the Hokage. Overall Hinata fears this might conflict the "friendship" she has with Sasuke.

Sasuke noticed her visible blush and rolled his eyes. It was easy to guess what she was about to say. But Neji hasn't yet to show up. Damn how big is this mansion anyways? Sasuke didn't want to be rude and leave her alone, but he wanted to have fun or have something to be amused about. Might as well pick on Hinata~

"Saw us what?" Sasuke insisted on Hinata to finish. Instead her face became the color of the tomatoes he so much enjoyed eating. She was stuttering horribly. He could only understand one word she had said, and that word was "Kissing" then rest of her sentence was unknown.

"What? Hinata I can't understand you." Sasuke watched her glaring at him, and he couldn't hide his smirk.

"Ugh! Y-You know what I m-mean!" Hinata said, refusing to repeat herself.

"Ah, I'll pretend that I do know" Sasuke got up from the chair to stretch. He remained standing.

"Isaidthatheevensawuskissingintheforest!" **Translation:** I said that he even saw us kissing in the forest! **He **as in the 3rd Hokage.

Sasuke looked at Hinata and tried his hardest not grin in front of her. He didn't know how it was possible for Hinata to say said all of that in one breath, without stuttering. He began to get curious as to how long can Hinata maintain a kiss (with him of course), before pulling away from lack the of oxygen. Err wait that wasn't right, again he blamed Kakashi and his awaking hormones.

"Hn" Sasuke replied. Damn it, he couldn't help but to grin. "I almost forgot that kiss ever took place" Sasuke lied. He stared at Hinata's eyes, waiting for some reaction, but the only thing he saw was that there was some kind of hurt in her eyes.

"M-Me too, b-but I just remembered…" Hinata was also lying. In fact it's all she could think about each time she woke up in the morning. Hinata was tired of having to look UP at when while speaking. She refused to feel like she was underneath him. Hinata moved her legs and decided to get off of bed and was now standing facing him.

"Really? I thought girls were more sensitive about these things." Sasuke commented, he was starting to take a few steps forward as to intimidate her. He was still taller than her, so Hinata had to STILL look UP at him.

"In fact, I recall how much you seem to be enjoying it (the kiss) and even tried to sneak your little tongue inside my mouth." Sasuke watched Hinata make a weird expression. It was a mix between embarrassment and disbelief and he felt more amused and satisfied. Of course he was lying about the tongue part, just to tease her.

"S-Sasuke you k-know that isn't t-true! And how could y-you say s-such indecent things to me!" Her voice kept raising because she wanted to yell at him because she felt offended.

"You're calling me a liar? When I was the one being deceived into thinking it was a mere dare! I didn't know you cared about being decent" Sasuke wasn't really angry about this; in fact it served as redbull to boost his ego up high. What made him become really angry was Hinata's actions. She had slapped him after insinuating that she was indecent.

Maybe it was the setting that prevented Hinata from being scared of his threatening gaze. She was inside her home, surrounded by Hyuugas who could come to her rescue if she's ever in trouble. This is what Sasuke had concluded after the way she had slapped him. Ouch…It actually hurt, coming from such soft hand he held his afternoon…

Then again it wasn't in his character to insult a girl. He didn't even mean to insult her, he was only trying to tell her that-Ugh never mind he didn't know what he was trying to say. He'll let this one slip only because he was out of line. It wasn't in his character to admit when he was at fault…

_So he found out about it after all. Why didn't he confront me about this earlier…oh no! I'm so stupid, why did I slap him? _

"Sa-Sasuke I'm s-sorry!" She was tempted to lean forward and touch his cheek, but knew it wasn't the time.

"Hn whatever." His reply came indifferently.

"I-I am not the only one who h-have been lying…" Hinata tried to defend herself. "Naruto d-didn't tell you to t-take care of me"

"Che it's not like it matters. I only said that so you would stop looking so gloomy. It's annoying." Hinata was standing in front of Sasuke; both were having some kind of glaring contest. Hinata was the first one to look away and shivered. Ah that's right, her jacket was off and she felt exposed. She only was wearing a black shinobi shirt with a fishnet shirt over it, along with her navy ninja pants. Her sandals were apparently removed.

Just then Neji appeared out of nowhere, and he looked back and forth between Sasuke and Hinata. They had been arguing. He was surprise Hinata could even argue. There was a red mark on Sasuke's pale cheek, so he must have been slapped by Hinata. Just as Neji entered the room, a smirk appeared on his face. Behind him was the Hyuuga doctor he went to fetch. WHICH WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND, geez seriously where was he.

Sasuke moved away from Hinata and pushed his hands inside his pocket, feeling out of place. Sasuke walked past a Neji who was smirking at him for some evil reason, then walked past the doctor, who was staring at him in a disgusted way.

Hinata watched Sasuke leave the room silently, and several mixed emotions were displayed in her eyes. Big mistake. Neji caught her look and finally knew that he had nothing to be proud about. It seems like Hinata didn't slap Sasuke because he was just being a pain. There was something else going on between the two. He will make sure he keeps an eye on Hinata this time.

Neji clears his throat and looked at the doctor.

"Oh! Right…" The doctor who obviously got distracted spoke. "Well Hinata I'm just going to check on how your health is since you can be very delicate during _heated_ summers." Hinata's face went red, and the doctor seemed to have made an emphasis on the word "heated". Neji rolled his eyes and made sure to stay inside the room. No wonder Hinata was afraid of this guy. HE WAS A PERVERT.

"Next week you will need to be injected, so you won't get attacked by any bacteria."

"Eeeeh!?" Hinata wasn't aware that her medical check up was just around the corner. This news was just too stressful and scary for her to handle. First, she didn't know if Sasuke stopped being her friend! And last, just hates needles! The heiress began to identify familiar feeling of dizziness and she knew she was about to faint. And she did, but this time she actually hit the ground with a loud THUD.

He watched her small body stir under the blankets; he knew she was finally waking up. A Hyuuga doctor came to check on her earlier and stated that Hinata was fine, she just needed some rest. Neji himself could have figured THAT out. But he just didn't know what could have possibly made her this stressed out. Neji got off his seat and decided to leave before she realized that he had been here. After all, Neji didn't want her to find out he hated her but at the same time cares for her.

----

**Author's note: Hey everyone^-^ I've been having a good time writing this story so far. I don't usually write anything after a chapter, but here it goes.**

**In one of my reviews, Miss Hydrangea said:  
**

"**Often times, people forget the contents of their dreams. How does Hinata remember things with such detail?" **

**So I came with the conclusion that I might have to rewrite chapter 1 and explain a few things. Hinata isn't entirely sure that what she's having is a dream. But since she has them when she sleeps, she calls them that.**

**But what Hinata is having is not really a dream. Before Hinata(from the future) had die in chapter 1, she created this Jutsu in which transferred all of her memories to someone that could either be from the past or the present. So before Hinata died she decided to transfer her memories to her 12 years old self.**

**That is how my story came to life o.o while I was mourning and thinking Hinata was dead after I read chapter 437 of the manga I came up with this.**


	7. Chapter 7: Absolute Misfortune

**Chapter 7: Absolute Misfortune **

It was probably around 4 or close to 5 in the morning when the Hinata's eyes fluttered open. She sat up and quickly jumped out of bed, no longer feeling in the mood to go back to sleep. Even though it was so early in the morning, and it was also a weekend at that, Hinata could faintly hear several steps outside the hallway. She was glad that she wasn't the only one who was up at this time. The first thing the heiress decided to do was to pull the curtains aside so the morning light will warm her room. But wait a second, it still looked dark...she vaguely wondered about the time, and glanced at the clock to see it was 4:39am.

_Eh why am I up so early!? Oh…I fainted two times yesterday. After that I also went to bed early. But before that…_

Hinata was brainstorming ideas and was finally hit by a lightning strike that left nothing but black ashes on the floor. She clearly remembered how lovely the red roses bloomed this year, making her garden outshine Hanabi's. Yea take that Hanabi! Who's better now!? Wait no… that was the day before yesterday. Ah she remembers now!

_Sasuke is probably mad at me because of my irresponsible behaviors…I should really go and apologize today to him, after he's done training and maybe it'll be nice if I bring a big bento for all of us to eat. I bet Sakura and Naruto are going to be there as well._

While having these thoughts, Hinata pulled out some dark ninja pants, along with a matching shirt and some black ninja sandals. The clothes that she was going to wear after she took a shower were left neatly ontop of her bed. Hinata slid her feet inside her slipper and grabbed a towel, then walked inside the bathroom to take a bath.

---

"Lady Hinata! Oh dear what a surprise to find you awake at this time. Is there anything I can get you?" One of Hinata's maids was shocked to see Hinata up at this time. Hinata was just walking inside the kitchen to find her maid making some tea.

"Good morning nana Hasumi" Hinata softly smiled up at the elder who has been taking care of her ever since she could remember. The young heiress rubbed her eyes. Hasumi asked Hinata if she wanted some tea, and maybe breakfast. But Hinata declined the breakfast offer, and decided to just have tea.

"Thank you nana Hasumi, today I decided to go around for a walk. D-Don't wake Neji up just to tell him I went outside early." The old woman nodded with a smiled and waved as Hinata left the kitchen

----

It was still dark outside when Hinata decided to go and run around Konoha for a few miles. She has been running for about thirty minutes and decided that she should pause to catch her breathe. She looked at her surrounding and was happy to see that she was near a river. Hinata ran towards the river and splashed some water on her face.

In front of Hinata, she saw the horizontal change colors which displayed many beautiful shades of red, yellow, purple, and gold.

_Awww how pretty! I don't know how long it has been since I last ever watch a sunrise. _

Hinata was so indulged in her thoughts that she hadn't notice Shikamaru. She was just so thrilled because she got to witness a sunrise. She had a great feeling that she'll end up having a great day after all! She was making up all kinds of good fortune just by watching the sunrise.

Shikamaru was lying on the grass by the river; he was completely spaced out as he stared up at the sky, and his eyes yelled BOREDOM. He was waiting for his lover to wake up and float over him, and take him up high. (Was waiting for the clouds to start showing up)

Hinata turned to leave, but found that she hadn't been alone. Shikamaru's presence was just a few steps away, so Hinata walked towards to him and decided she should say good morning.

"S-Shikamaru, good morning!" Hinata plopped down next to Shikamaru and smiled at him.

"Eh Hinata, I don't see you around much. Tch today will be such a troublesome day. I can already foreshadow that I'll be dragged by Ino. Having friends can be such a drag. Tch" Hinata wanted to sweatdrop at his reply, and his lazy/dark view of such a lovely day.

"A-Ah…Is today Ino's birthday…!?" Hinata panicked, even though she wasn't exactly close to Ino, she know she might be invited to any possible birthday party.

"Thank the clouds that it isn't Ino's birthday. Don't you know about today's main event? Tch it's why I got up early so I can spend hours watching the sky before the festival begins. Maybe that will give me enough endurance to last through this difficult day." Hinata giggled at his comment. She knew Shikamaru was actually being serious about it, which made her want to giggle the more.

"I-I see. Well then I-I hope y-you can live through today." Hinata got up and decided to leave. However before she left, Shikamaru was curious and asked Hinata if she was going to be there, somehow already knowing the answer.

"N-No I'm not going to the festival. Just try to h-have fun with the others Shikamaru. I bid you a good day now." Ah, just like he thought. Every time there were these events Hinata never seem to attend any of them. Shikamaru remembered this since he was very young. He witnessed Kiba asking Hinata to go to the festival with him, but she rejected him. Kiba ran away crying and Shikamaru was forced to help Hinata make Kiba talk to her again.

"Tch, lucky her" Shikamaru said to himself. He was envious that she had the liberty to not attend to the festival if she wanted.

----

Why hadn't Hinata noticed it before? While she walked around the streets of Konoha, she saw that everyone's faces lit up with a smile. Street venders were moving their carts, and all the preparations were being done. Even though it was early in the morning the streets began to crowd…

Hinata's heart began to speed up and she decided to cut through an alley and avoid bumping into all those people, and getting in anyone's way.

----

Hinata returned back home, and on her way to the room she bumped into Neji and fell on the floor. Hinata was originally heading towards her room to grad a towel and take another bath.

"Ow…" Hinata stared up at the eyes that were so very similar to her. Neji frowned and looked at her with disapproval, but nevertheless he extended his hand for Hinata to take. He helped her back onto her feet and Hinata bowed down as she said her apologies for being clumsy. Neji nodded as if accepting her apology.

"Lady Hinata, you seem suspicious." Neji commented. He found it odd that his cousin woke up at 5 in the morning just to go take a "walk". Ha he'll never fall for such a lame excuse. He assumed that she probably met with the Uchiha during the morning.

"Um brother Neji…I don't quite follow…what are speaking of…" Aha! Even her reply seems flawed and suspicious! He knew she was playing dumb. But okay fine, if Hinata wants to keep making believe that she is able to fool him, let her be. It's just not fair! Neji didn't have enough evidence to prove that Hinata has been with the Uchiha, and that she's in fact lying.

"Hn." _That foolish brat, she thinks she can out smart me with her innocence. _Just as he finished this thought, Neji looked at Hinata's big, wide innocent eyes. The shining innocent aura which radiated from her was so great that he was almost blinded, thus forced himself to look away in guilt.

_I refuse to fall for the well display of her innocent act! _"If you excuse me Lady Hinata, I have somewhere to go." Neji excused himself and continued to walk to wherever he was heading.

_Um okay…that was a bit weird, even for Neji. _

----

"Alright…everything seems to be ready. Blue berries, strawberries, rice balls, ramen, sandwiches, tea…fruit salad" Hinata was making a roll call of all the food she's bringing inside the bentos she had made. The fruit salad was for Sakura because she remembered one day Sakura said she was on a die. Ramen, Naruto. Yummy rice balls, Sasuke. She wasn't exactly sure what Sasuke liked to eat but she decided to bring these. Hasumi had helped Hinata make this, and heiress was extremely happy.

"Have a safe trip Lady Hinata!" Hinata nodded while clinging to the bento in her arms.

"T-Thank you f-for the help!" With that Hinata ran outside of the Hyuuga compound and walked towards the training ground, located near the Hokage's tower.

----

Hinata wasn't aware that someone had been stalking her ever since she left the Hyuuga mansion. She continued to walk, turning left and right, while avoiding the crowd that was gathering around the streets. Sometimes she even jumped over the roof tops just to reach her destination, which she did.

The Hokage tower came into view, and Hinata continue to walk past it and made her way towards the training ground to find that…

_Why is it empty?_

…there was no one there. Hinata's excitement began to decrease, and she looked down at her bento and then noticed some kind a movement taking place, so her gaze turned back to the training ground. She wasn't sure why there had been a tumbleweed rolling across the field, even though this place was not a desert. Hinata turned her heel and decided that maybe its best she asks around.

_I shouldn't let this get to me, I will keep going and I won't give up until I find Sasuke and apologize._

An imaginary Naruto floated over Hinata's shoulder and threw a punch up in the air, cheering for Hinata. "YEA HINATA YOU CAN DO IT! BELIEVE IT!"

Hinata walked inside the Hokage tower and noticed the place didn't look as busy as it usually does. She thought that maybe it had something to do with the festival. Sigh how she wish she could go…but she can't.

Hinata made her way upstairs and knocked on the Hokage's office. A voice coming from inside told her to enter, and she did.

"Hyuuga Hinata, what brings you here?" The 3rd Hokage didn't even look up from his paper work as he spoke. But when Hinata opened her mouth to reply, his attention was on her. Was that a little glint of amusement in his eyes? She wasn't sure.

"U-Um Lord Hokage, I-I came to see if y-you know where Sasuke might be…" Hinata was nervous as she spoke. The 3rd Hokage looked into his crystal ball and saw the image of Sasuke glaring at Naruto. They seem to be around the training field that was located on the far east of this building.

"He's with Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi training on the far east, near the forests." Hinata bowed in respected and dismissed after thanking him.

----

Sasuke was on the ground, he was panting hard from the harsh training Kakashi was giving them. Ugh to think that today is the festival and they don't even get a break. But he doesn't care; he doesn't want a break just to go to that dumb festival in hopes of bumping into Hinata there. He assumed that she was going.

"Hey guys, get up. We're done for today. For those who are going to the festival, enjoy your childish evening." With that Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke along with his book.

Sakura walked over towards Sasuke and offer him her hand. Naruto was giving Sasuke dirty looks, and this encouraged Sasuke to take Sakura's hand and let her help him up. Ha that outta get Naruto mad!

"Saaauuse~keeh~" Sakura said in a flirty tone. "Would you go to the festival with me~~?" She asked in the sweetest/fakest voice she could muster. Naruto felt like there was tons of brick falling on him, and his life was fading.

_C'mon Sasuke bastard, please say no…if you say yes I know you only did it to torture me!_ Naruto was yelling inside his mind, as he waited for Sasuke's answer.

"No. I don't plan on going." Sasuke replied coolly, he withdrew his hand from Sakura's.

_Sakura's hand doesn't feel the same way Hinata's hand felt when I held hers…_ Sasuke noted. **Translation: **Sakura doesn't make me feel the same way Hinata does.

_YES!_ Naruto jumped to his feet and felt alive! He felt like crying a river and being dramatic, just like Lee often does.

Sasuke began to walk away from the group, and decided to head home and take a shower. When the word "Home" came into mind, Sasuke wasn't sure why an image of the 3rd Hokage scolding his grandson Konohamaru came into mind, with an annoyed looking Sasuke glaring at Konohamaru for doing stupid pranks just like Naruto.

On the other hand, Sakura's expression looked lifeless at the rejection. It's not like Sasuke have not rejected her a bunch of times before, is just that, with all the things that has been going on in their mission, she thought there might be a spark in him. Sakura walked with dark clouds and heavy rain falling down upon her, and Naruto decided this was his chance to go and comfort her.

"Sakura, wait!" Naruto ran after Sakura, she stopped to look at her blonde friend and sighed. Unlike her dark clouds and rainy day, Naruto had a background of sunshine and rainbow, and birds, and all these bright things.

"Naruto, what is it now, I'm a bit tired..."_ And sad…_

"Um well, I was wondering if I could keep you company at the festival." Naruto tried to lower his voice and contain his excitement. He could sympathize with her.

"What's the point…I thought Sasuke was going…" Naruto frown at her reply, and fire burned within his sea blue eyes.

"Grrr, if I promise to drag Sasuke to the festival, will you come with me?" Sakura reacted to this offer. Her face became bright again and the dark cloud with rains and thunder were gone. Instead Cherry blossom seem to bloom behind her.

"Of course silly! Since I don't get to be Sasuke's date, all three of us could go together and try to bond as both team members and friends!" Sakura replied.

_YEA I COULD HAVE SASUKE ALL TO MYSELF AND LEAVE NARUTO DISTRACTED WITH RAMEN!_ Inner Sakura was yelling with excitement.

Naruto stared at Sakura with a smile, but everything died out after his stomach began to grumble.

"Aww mannn I'm hungry!" Sakura sighed and grabbed Naruto by the arm.

"Let's go and eat, I'm hungry also!"_ curse my starvation diet! _Sakura replied. As if god had sent them a sign, there were several soft steps coming their way. It was Hinata holding a big bento in hand.

----

10 minutes earlier before Hinata saw Naruto come into view; she was still not aware of being followed. Hinata, again, avoid all the crowd of people as they set up many marketplace and food stand for the festival. She decided to instead take the long way to get to the where Sasuke was training.

However what she didn't realize is that right after she turned a corner to take the long way, Sasuke was coming from the training grounds, taking the short cut.

The two completely missed each other on the way.

----

"How was training Sasuke?" The Hokage asked. He had a smirk in his face for some reason. Oh how he envies the youth these days, and their interesting love life.

"Che. You act as if you really don't know. I'm pretty sure you were watching through that crystal ball of yours." The Hokage chuckled when Sasuke said this.

"Well yes, I worry for my students." The Hokage paused for a second and wasn't sure if he should tell Sasuke about Hinata. Oh never mind, he can't help it.

"Sasuke, that young lady Hinata came by minutes before you came here. She held a big bento in hand and I'm guessing she was intending to share it with you and your team. She was looking for you." The Hokage informed Sasuke. He watched as his onyx eyes widen in realization. The Hokage chuckled again after he saw Sasuke dashed outside the door.

"He left the door open." The Hokage cursed under his breathe. Oh well~

---

"Awww Hinata! That's so sweet of you!" Naruto said while slurping down the Ramen Hinata brought.

"I don't see why I ever hated you Hinata! Thank you for the fruit salad and the sandwiches!" Sakura said, while eating and filling in her tummy. Hinata looked like she had just seen the devil himself

_Sakura…hated me? Eh!!?_

"U-Um i-it was no problem. I-I'm grateful to you guys. Sorry f-for fainting like that yesterday." Hinata said. She was eating one of the rice balls that she had intended to give to Sasuke. She poured tea into three ups and gracefully handed it to Naruto and Sakura.

The three continue to eat, but inside Hinata's mind, something bothered her. The point of this bento was to use it as an effective combo that came along with apologizing to Sasuke. He was bound to forgive her, then still resent her, but then Sasuke was suppose to feel happy with her food and then forgive her entirely.

Well at least is what she believed. Her nana Hasumi had agreed to this plan.

---

Tenten was walking with Lee while holding some shopping bags, when they suddenly saw Neji. He was leaning against a corner and peeking at someone. Was Neji spying? Tenten's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and she withdrew a Kunai and threw it at Neji. But Neji saw this coming and smoothly caught it in hand.

"Hey Neji, what exactly are you doing?" Tenten asked.

"Neji! Its not healthy for us youthful people to obsess over being a Shinobi!" Lee said. Tenten agreed with him even though she didn't know what he was referring to.

"I was just spying on Hinata, just making sure that she wasn't trying to meet up with that Sasuke." Neji deactivated his Byakugan. Tenten's forehead started to get a bit sweaty, and she laughed nervously. Neji raised an eyebrow at Tenten's nervous display and began to become suspicious.

"You know something don't you? Tenten, as your team leader and friend, I advice that it is foolish to keep things from me." Neji approached Tenten, as he said this in a threatening tone. Lee stepped in front of Tenten to protect her of Neji's eyes.

"Friend Neji! Tenten is just nervous because her youthful spirit wants to reach out to you and invite you to the festival!" Lee was hit on the head with a shopping bag.

"LEE!" Tenten was annoyed at her friend's straightforwardness "I was suppose to ask him, not you!" Tenten hit Lee on the head yet again.

"Fine I'll go. But this isn't a date or anything romantic." Neji said, there was a slight blush spread across his cheek. For the time being, he had forgotten about Hinata.

"OH OH! CAN I COME AND KEEP YOU TWO YOUTHFUL BEING HYPED UP IN SPIRIT!?" Neji didn't want to feel awkward around Tenten so he nodded. Tenten on the other hand sighed…she will be sure to kill Lee while he sleeps.

_I'm glad Lee stepped in; it's true I can't hide much from Neji. I know that Hinata and Sasuke like one another._

---

Sasuke ran as fast as he could while he headed to towards the Far East training ground. After he made it there, he was panting and trying to catch his breathe.

_I'm too late._

Indeed he was. Five minutes before he showed up, Hinata bid her good bye to Naruto and Sakura, and told them to have fun at the festival. It was heart breaking to see that Naruto and Sakura appear to be closer than they actually knew. Hinata had once again set out on a journey to go and find Sasuke.

Sasuke wanted to curse out loud for having such luck today. Even though he was frustrated right now, his heart raced, but not just because he had been running fast. It had to do with knowing that Hinata had come looking for him. Sasuke didn't want to stay here too long and ponder, so he decided to go back to the Hokage tower.

---

"OH HEY! WAIT STOP!" Hinata heard an all so familiar voice calling her. It was Kiba. Her face lit up and she waved at him with happiness.

"K-Kiba!" Hinata greeted, it seems like it was forever since she last saw him.

"Hinata how've you been? It's been a week since I last saw you. Akamaru has finally recovered and now we can go back to training!" Kiba said to her.

"Oh that's g-great Kiba. I-I hope that maybe next week we could train together!" Hinata replied. "And u-um I'm on a hurry right now…I'm looking for someone. Bye Kiba!" Hinata waved at Kiba and started to run towards the Hokage tower.

All along, Shino had been standing, leaning against a blue wall next to Kiba. But since Shino's jacket was also blue…he sorta camouflaged with the wall, and Hinata hadn't seen Shino standing there.

"Kiba…" Came the distant voice of Shino. Kiba sweat dropped as he turned to Shino.

"It looks like it happened again, Hinata didn't notice you hahaha!"

---

Sasuke was just so tired. After he was getting closer to the Hokage Tower, he bumped into Shino and Kiba on the way. They three exchanged look. Sasuke decided to forget about his mighty pride for the moment, and asked Shino and Kiba if they had seen Hinata. Kiba and Shino looked at one another, not sure if Hinata wanted them to talk about her…

"We did see her. Though she didn't see Shino hahaha-AHHH GET THIS BUG OFF ME SHINO!" A bug had crawled over Kiba's face after he had mocked his friend. Shino and Sasuke stood there with sweatdrop on their heads.

"Do you know where she was headed?" Sasuke asked.

"She was looking for someone at the Hokage Tower" Shino replied with his smooth and cool tone. Sasuke nodded and turned to leave, but paused, remembering that he should ask them something.

"Is Hinata going to the festival with you two?" Sasuke asked. He tried to ignore Kiba in the background; Kiba he was still wrestling Shino's bug and rolling on the ground. Akamaru was helping Kiba by barking at the bugs. I don't know how that was helping Kiba at all.

"No. Hinata can't attend to any of those crowded festivals." Shino replied and commanded his bugs to retreat.

Kiba smirked at one of Shino's bug as he identified that this must be the leader of the group. Kiba's eyes widen with horror when he noticed that the bug was smirking back at him. Although his eyes weren't as great at Hinata's, the young teen could have sworn the bug threw a tiny kunai at him. After Kiba completely regain control of his composure, he got up and stood behind Shino like nothing had occurred with the evil-Shino-bug-mafia.

"Shino's right. Ever since Hinata was little, she always avoid these crowded places because-"Kiba was interrupted after he saw Shino raise a hand to protest.

"It is wise if we leave Kiba. Hinata doesn't like when we talk about something without her consent." Shino said. Kiba nodded and the two turned around to leave.

Sasuke was left there standing, pondering over about what Kiba has just said.

"So Hinata must be really shy huh…"_ Since she doesn't like crowds._

-----

**Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 were originally one chapter divided into two. Therefore I shall be posting chapter 8 very soon.**


	8. Chapter 8: Absolute Attraction

**Chapter 8: Absolute Attraction **

Hinata plopped down in bed. It was around 6pm and she was exhausted from her search. She wasn't able to find Sasuke, and this depressed her so much. Hinata lied in bed and stared at the ceiling, but in reality her thoughts were far off. She was remembering about this morning when she saw the sunrise, she was filled with hopes that this day will go on really smoothly, but it didn't. Hinata turned to her side and closed her eyes. She's giving up…there's no way she can keep on searching for him. It was getting too dark, and the crowd of people was getting too dense.

Hinata sighed and rolled on her back. She sat up and got to open the door to see it was Hasumi knocking. Hinata smiled tiredly at the old woman, and thanked her for the help today.

"Lady Hinata, I'm here to bring you the Kimono your father has sent you as a gift" Hasumi spoke softly. Hinata's eyes lit up.

"Oh I-I wanna see it!" Hasumi nodded and left, minutes later she came back with the Kimono in hand. Hinata's father Hiashi was out on a business trip and he won't be back until tomorrow.

The kimono was simply gorgeous, what other words where there to describe it? It a dark blue kimono with a pattern of red flowers and the obi was red.

"Um…" Hinata stood in front of long-length mirror.

"Your father said he wanted you to dress elegantly today, and sent his consent that you may go to the festival today as long as you were with friends." Hasumi explained.

"Right…" _sigh_ "Thank you for the help Hasumi" The old lady nodded and Hinata silently let Hasumi help her put on the kimono. After Hinata was finish getting dressed in her Kimono, she told Hasumi that she'll take care of the rest.

Hinata began to brush her silky hair and decided to let her dark blue hair stay the way she always had it. It had grown over the last few months, she noted. It was now almost reaching past her hips. Maybe she should cut her hair. Her face looked so simple, and Hinata reached inside one of her jewelry drawer, and took out two hair pins, and pulled her hair up.

She wasn't one to stand in the mirror and obsess about her looks, especially when she knew damn well she shouldn't attend the festival. It was all too risky…

Hinata looked for some traditional wooden shoes to wear and finally made her way out of the room.

"Where is brother Neji?" Hinata asked. She was too distracted this morning that she realized she never saw him again after their weird encounter.

"He went to the festival with some friends" Hasumi said, as she washed the dirty dishes.

"O-Oh…okay…" Hinata fidgeted with her Kimono, and she looked down at the floor. "I will have to walk there a-alone. I-I'll get going then. I am meeting a few friends there…" _At least I hope I can find them._

Hasumi turned to Hinata and gave her a smile. "Alright child, you take care." Hinata turned to leave.

---

Naruto and Sakura made their way outside the Hokage Tower and waited for Sasuke. Sasuke came out but he wasn't dressed in his regular Uchiha pride attire. Sakura's eyes turned into heart after seeing that Sasuke was wearing a midnight blue Yukata (Kimono for guy) Wait a minute…on the back of Sasuke's Yukata, the Uchiha clan symbol was visible. Okay so he still portrayed his pride.

Naruto on the other hand was wearing a black Yukata with the design of a dragon.

"SAUUUUSSEEE~~KE!" Sakura pulled a fan from the sleeve of her cherry blossom pink kimono, and fanned herself in a flirtatious way. "Are you ready to go now~~"

"Hn. If it isn't obvious enough." Sasuke was grumpy. He started to walk by Sakura's right, while Naruto walked by Sakura's left.

Sasuke was grumpy because he was forced to wear this. The third Hokage wanted Sasuke to actually look presentable or something like that (The Hokage didn't want Sasuke to look uncool, just in case he happened to see Hinata there at the festival). Not only that, but what completely threw off his mood was today's twisted fate. Hinata and Sasuke were unable to meet no matter how much they had tried to find one another.

In the end, Naruto came across Sasuke and asked him, begged him, to go to the festival because that's the only way to get Sakura to go.

It was night time. The festival was coming to life. All kinds of people were vending so many kinds of different food on the streets. Everyone was participating in games and eating. Sakura even got Sasuke to catch a gold fish for her. Afterwards, Sakura felt a bit bad for Naruto, so she allowed him to catch a gold fish for her as well.

On the way, the three bumped into Ino who was clinging onto Shikamaru's arm. The guy looked like he rather be anywhere on earth, whether dead or alive, than being here at the festival.

"INO!" Sakura waved. She giggled when she saw even Shikamaru was wearing a Yukata.

"Festivals are so troublesome. This is the last time I come to one." He said.

"Hey where's Choji?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru pointed at some directed and Naruto followed it. Choji was at some distance shoving food in his mouth. Oh how he loved festivals!

"Oh my gosh is that Tenten with Neji?" Ino gasped when she saw Tenten in her pretty kimono, along with Neji who was being dragged by her by the arm.

"Yup." Sakura said. "I wonder if Hinata's coming this year." Shikamaru shook his head as Sakura asked this.

"Hinata told me this morning she was gonna stay home. How I wish the same for myself" Ino sweatdropped with what her date just finished admitting. Everyone was standing there talking their lives away, and Sasuke took the time to slip unnoticed and go in search for Hinata once more.

----

Sasuke shoved his way through the crowd until he finally managed to find some deserted alley. He pumped chakra on his feet and leaped on top of many roof tops and headed towards his desired destination.

---

She could see it from across this bridge. The colorful lights from the festivals, she could hear the laughter and excitement. Heck she could even smell the scent of food in the air. Hinata paused in the middle of the bridge she was crossing. Maybe she should turn back and go home…

---

Sasuke's eyebrows were twitching in annoyance. The Hyuuga guards wouldn't let him inside! Sasuke sighed and pretended to walk away from the mansion. Sasuke's Sharingan activated as he walked. He was examining the place to see if he could find another way to get inside the mansion. He glanced up at the tall walls that served as a way to keep regular people outside. But he was no regular person now was he, he was a shinobi!

Sasuke cursed at his pathetic attire because it was uncomfortable to do much. Sasuke pumped some chakra into his two feet and climbed the walls that led inside the Hyuuga compound. Alright, now all he had to do is find Hinata…

---

Hinata ended up staying across the bridge, and watching the festival from where she was sitting. Right now she found herself by the riverbank, sitting down on the grass and waiting to see if you could witness the fireworks up close. She has seen fireworks before, but that was from far away, on top of the Hyuuga roof.

_It's so lonely…_

Hinata felt her heart clench and drifted away in her thoughts.

_It's not like I haven't seen Sasuke for months…but even so, I remember it didn't matter as much back then on whether I bumped to him or not. I never thought that in only one day I will come to realize that I want him to always be here around me…_

Hinata plopped back on the grass. She could hear the sound of the river flowing. But as her thoughts kept multiplying, she had drowned out any sound. And finally she found herself truly alone in the depths of her heart.

Hinata dug inside her mind, for fragments of the moments she shared with Sasuke. During the time she spent with him, she would often freak out inside because she tried so hard to come up with a conversation for the two. Sasuke can be patient at times, but then he has his impatient moments.

Hinata started to recall that time she apologized to him, it all seem so long ago. He only patted her head like she was a child.

"You know Hyuuga, you're very amusing." He had said to her one time. Back then Hinata didn't know much about his personality, so she got deeply hurt when he was trying to tease her.

"No you're not misunderstanding." Sasuke said as he was stepping closer to her. "Idiot it's really not that difficult." Sasuke's actions and words, Sasuke's cocky grin and conceited smirk. They were all part of the Sasuke she had grown so fond of.

"I…" Sasuke's forehead was pressed against hers. His eyes were piercing right through hers, and she was not aware why he had been such a jerk back then.

"Yes…?" Her voice was soft and weak, and her knees were almost giving in.

"Find girls to be so annoying." But if he finds girl so annoying, he could have kept his hand away to himself. Hinata didn't ask Sasuke to pat her head, or be physically close to her.

"Please stay away from me. You're so annoying!" Why would he tell her to stay away?

Hinata recalls some of Tenten's words. "Listen Hinata guys like Sasuke would lie all the time, to keep their true feelings to themselves. Plus, he wants to be a ninja. He probably thinks that showing emotions and affections will make him weak and soft."

Hinata sat up as her eyes widen with complete realization. Sasuke had always been there to see Hinata blush and stutter, when she couldn't utter a word to Naruto. Sasuke had known that Hinata had a crush on Naruto.

"Che it's not like it matters. I only said that so you would stop looking so gloomy. It's annoying." Wait so does that mean he cares…? Did it mean he only wanted to make her smile?

"Naruto told me to take care of you…" Naruto never said that to him…

_But Sasuke I don't think I'm in love with Naruto anymore…_

Hinata got up from the ground and dusted her new expensive kimono, not giving to much thought to it.

_But I'm afraid…_

Hinata felt a shiver go through her body, but she shook her head and decided that she'll risk it after all. She'll risk being inside a crowd just to find him. So the young heiress made her way towards the festival, and across the bridge.

---

"So you're telling me Hinata went to the festival…?" Sasuke asked, he wasn't quite sure if he heard this old lady right. He spoke through his teeth, and his voice portrayed how much he was so angered.

"Yes, lady Hinata was given permission to attend" Hasumi looked at Sasuke's eyes with sympathy. "She spent most of her day trying to find this young man so she could apologize to him." Sasuke frown after she said that. He felt guilty inside, it wasn't her fault, it was all his. He was the one getting out of line by thinking she might be just like all the other girls.

_That idiot, why does she continue to waste her time on me?_

Sasuke ran outside and past the guards who wouldn't let him inside earlier. He made his way towards the festival in hopes of finding her there.

While Sasuke was running, he wasn't really aware of anything other than his body moving. He was now lost in this thoughts as he began to recall a few things.

She had accidently slipped while sitting up, and by complete mistake taking him off guard and kissed him. She avoid him afterwards, but then she came back to apologize…and he was surprise to say the least. Isn't that what all the girls wanted from him?

"U-um…there's isn't much for me to say…I've been r-rehearsing something in my mind…but it sti-still won't come out right. B-But Sasuke…um I also wanted to apologize for…not apologizing earlier. I'm sorry!" Hinata didn't realize that her words affected him so much. He found himself doing weird things that involved physical contact. Like patting her head! Like being close to her…like…holding her hand…

If she was always chasing after Naruto, why did she spend time to care about him?

"Please don't touch me." She was trying to help him stand up. He was tired and confused, and didn't want to have to deal with the strange feelings Hinata is causing him to feel. He didn't want to be touch by her, only to find himself wanting to hold her.

"Alright, at least let me help with you're wounds." She persisted. While she healed him, her chakra control and medical Jutsus make him admire her ability. She was being useful after all! Hinata had been deep in thought and didn't realize he was completely healed. He decided to hold her hands and tell her to stop. He saw the look of relief in her eyes after she heard he was fine.

But he didn't let go of her hand. She was blushing but never said anything about it.

Ugh what did it mean!? He's never felt this way before about a girl. He had thought it meant that he had passively accepted her as a friend. But Sakura was friend also! Sasuke had compared the two, and was able to distinguish what friendship is. Sasuke and Hinata were friends, but at the same time he had feelings that went beyond just "friendly" levels.

---

Hinata sighed to herself. She stood on top of a random roof top, and with her Byakugan she was searching for Sasuke. Finding Sasuke was just harder than she thought it would be. She had tried searching for him but only saw images of Naruto with Sakura, Neji and Tenten, then Ino and Shikamaru. Hinata came to the conclusion that Sasuke didn't make it to the festival, that he probably stayed behind to do something else. The heiress sighed again and deactivated her Byakugan. She began wondering if she should go back home. Just then she heard a huge explosion that almost frightened her, however her fear died out when she saw the sky eliminating with these sparkly lights of all sorts of colors. She couldn't believe the fireworks started already!

---

Minutes after Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, Sasuke made it back to the festival. So she completely missed it and didn't know about Sasuke being at the festival.

Sasuke searched for his friends and finally found them. Naruto asked Sasuke where he has being, and Sasuke looked around to see everyone was there except Hinata.

"Hn. Did anyone happen to see Hinata?" Sasuke asked. He hadn't notice Shino and Kiba were there as well.

"We told you Hinata can't come to festivals." Shino said.

"Guys! The fireworks is about to start!" Ino said excitedly.

Sakura stood beside Sasuke and grabbed his hand before the firework began to display. With Sakura's other free hand, she reached for Naruto's hand and held it. She was standing in between the two, holding their hands and looking up at the sky with happiness.

"Naruto…Sasuke, you two are such great team members, and also friends." Sakura said. Naruto blush and grinned at Sasuke, then smiled at Sakura. Sasuke's expression remained neutral and cold.

"And this is how we'll always stay, forever! Believe it!" Naruto yelled. Sakura giggled, and Sasuke was beginning to feel guilt all over again. Where was Hinata…? What was she doing?

"Everyone here it comes!" Sakura yelled cheerfully. Everyone in the festival paused for a moment and stared up at the sky. Many "Aww" and "Yays" and "wow" were whispered between everyone. Sasuke was not fazed by the pathetic display of light, and he roughly pulled his hand away from Sakura and search for Hinata one last time.

---

What was happening to her? She could not control it! The festival lights began to look like flame. The fireworks were still displaying but people started to move from their spot to get a better look at it. The people that walked by started to look faceless. Every shadow from the dark started to grow larger, and Hinata didn't know what to do, she was too scared!

Hinata had been on her way to join Naruto and the others. She took advantage of the fact that everyone stood still in one place. But as people started to move, Hinata panic and stood still as people shoved past her.

---

Sasuke noticed her right away from the corner of his eyes. He saw her from far away, standing in the middle of the crowd, and her body was shaking like she was afraid for her life. What was she doing? What was happening to her?

Sasuke wanted to call out to her and make her notice him, but with the noise coming from the fireworks, plus the noise of all the chatter that was going on around this festival made it impossible for him to be heard.

---

_I'm so scared…please…Sasuke help me…_

Aside feeling petrified, Hinata was shocked at herself for wanting Sasuke to be the one to rescue her. Someone walked past her, and she was accidently pushed into the ground and she fell. The young heiress closed her eyes and stood up. Her mind wasn't thinking too clearly, she decided that she might have to walk or else she might have a heart attack. Hinata began to walk, and her clumsiness made it hard to get around. She pushed past people, and she was hoping she could get to some deserted place.

Then that's when it happened…

She felt someone wrapped their fingers around her wrist. It was someone from behind her. Hinata hadn't notice that there were tears running down her eyes until this soft grip pulled her back into reality. Hinata averted her head to look who was behind her holding her wrist. She smiled with such a big relief to find out that indeed it was Sasuke.

"S-Sasuke!" Hinata's fears were suddenly forgotten while she was being pulled by him, and she followed Sasuke almost blindly. He led her to a spot that didn't have that many people around. Sasuke let go of her wrist, and this time he held her hand. He turned his attention to the fireworks, and Hinata looked up as well and decided that maybe she should enjoyed because it was nearly over.

The fireworks were almost over, and people began to walk away, and the path was clearing out. Hinata turned her eyes to look at Sasuke. She blushed after thinking of how nice he looked in his Yukata. Sasuke on the other hand didn't know if he was ready to face Hinata yet, but decided he needed to talk to her.

"S-Sasuke, I-I wanted to apologize for-"She was cut off after Sasuke's eyes landed on her. He had his Sharingan activated. But that wasn't what had caught her off guard; it was the way Sasuke was staring at her. It was no longer with those cold and distant eyes of his. Although Sasuke wasn't exactly smiling, his eyes reflected that he was happy.

"What kind of person who has enochlophobia comes out here just to apologize" Sasuke said and then chuckled. He pieced it all together. He was able to solve this little mystery that was haunting him. Shino's words, Kiba's words, Hinata's behavior. It became obvious that Hinata was afraid of crowds.

Hinata looked away, immediately blushing. She didn't know what to say to him. He was making it hard to talk after leaving his emotion out in the open.

"U-Um…" She didn't know where to start. "I-I just w-wanted to m-make you stop hating m-me" _I just wanted to be around you even if I was really afraid._

"Hinata. I don't hate you" Hinata noticed that they were still holding hand, and his hand had a really tight a secure grip on hers.

"W-Well…S-Sasuke you should let go of my hand now…" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her suggestion.

"Why?" Ha! As if he'll ever let go!

"I-It's a-a bit embarrassing…" Well that much he could tell, from her reaction and blushes.

_Che I won't let go._

"I won't take the risk of being separated." Sasuke replied.

"B-But what k-kind of friends h-hold hands like this…?" Hinata noticed he blush, but he didn't look away from her eyes. Her sentence replayed over and over inside his mind.

"Hinata…" Sasuke was confused about the situation himself. "Are we really just friend?"

_Ehhh!?!?! Wait…what is he asking? Am I misunderstanding!? _ Sasuke stood there hand in hand with Hinata, feeling a bit nervous. Maybe he shouldn't have mention anything and just let things how they are. At least now he was absolutely sure about the crush he had on her. But how did Hinata feel? He was also absolutely lost about that.

"U-Um…I-I" Sasuke was becoming a bit impatient with her hesitation. "S-Sasuke, W-What are you d-doing?" Hinata was surprise with Sasuke's sudden actions. He was leaned forward and embraced her.

"Hugging a friend" Hinata felt tense with his words. His voice returned back to the monotone she had been used to hearing. She gently returned the hug and tried to ignore the fact that there were people staring.

---

After the two pulled away from the embrace, Sasuke felt stupid for not realizing why Hinata felt extra nervous and shy…they were showing public affection by hugging and holding hands. Sasuke led her to the same place where Hinata believes her misfortune began. They were by the same river where Hinata witnessed the sunrise.

First the two sat down quietly, neither talked for a long time. After time was passing, Sasuke was actually the one who started the conversation. And as time progressed, he doesn't know how he found himself with his head resting on Hinata's lap, and his hair was being stroked by her soft hand.

"Favorite food…hmm that would be rice balls. Sometimes tomatoes if I'm in the mood for it." Sasuke spoke almost in a whisper. He heard Hinata giggles and he closed his eyes to enjoy another moment of silence.

"My next qu-question would be…" Hinata spoke, breaking the long silence. "Sasuke do you really like me…? Or a-am I just mistaking y-your actions" Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he stared at the dark night and watched the stars that were twinkling in the sky. He sat up and turned to face her.

Her question…was silly. He tried not to roll his eyes and look frustrated. He tried to restrain himself from just tackling her down and kissing her. He even tried to put his feelings into words. But it all narrowed down to just one answer.

"Yes." This time it was Hinata who couldn't hold back much of anything anymore. She tackled him to the ground and intended to embrace him but the two ended up rolling down the riverbank and falling into the river.

Red, angry Sharingan glared at her wide innocent lavender eyes.

"Hinata." His voice sounded dangerous.

"Y-y-ye-ye-yes?" Hinata wasn't afraid for her life. She was afraid that this might have changed Sasuke's feelings for her.

"You just ruined any possible moment we could have had." Hinata burst in giggles and accepted the hand of Sasuke who was smirking at her now.

---


	9. Chapter 9: Sulking and Hurting

**Chapter 9: Sulking and Hurting**

The night grew darker, and across the riverbank the festival continued. Hinata accepted the help Sasuke was offering, and with a quick tug she was pulled into her feet. Hinata couldn't help but to think about how silly the two look. Sasuke's smirk was gone, and now he kept a neutral expression since his Yukata was now dirty and wet. Hinata guessed that maybe he was slightly annoyed, but on the other hand, maybe he was also happy.

"Aaachuuu" Hinata covered her nose and mouth while she sneezed. Now her body started to tremble, she was cold.

"Let's walk you home Hinata." Sasuke said. He knew better than to stay out here, it seems like Hinata was very sensitive.

"Ah okay…" Hinata accepted Sasuke's hand again as he helped her move outside the river. The two let go of each other's hand and took part of their cloth to squeeze some of the water out.

"I'm going t-to get scolded." Hinata walked towards where her wooden sandals were. She previously had taken her sandals off, and Sasuke had done the same, when they got here.

"Is your father home?" Sasuke asked, becoming aware of how he never came across Hiashi while he was at the Hyuuga's mansion.

"Um no…he's on a b-business trip. But…he also sent me t-this kimono and I probably already ruined i-it." Sasuke could tell that Hinata was also worried about something else but said nothing. He saw a smile form on her lips, followed by a light blush on her cheeks. Even in the moonlight, he could still see it. Today he spent most of the time searching for her, and now there was a feeling of relief building up inside his heart because she knew the feelings he have for her.

The two young teens left the riverbank and began to walk by the road. They were walking towards the direction that led to the Hyuuga mansion. After several minutes had gone by, they were about to turn right but Hinata paused and Sasuke came to a stop as well.

"S-Sasuke thank you f-for walking with me. I-I think it is best if the guards do not see you." Hinata was hoping that Sasuke will understand. After watching him reply with a nod of head, she contemplated on giving him a light kiss on the cheek, but decided against it. Hinata walked in front of Sasuke and bowed. Before turning to leave she said good night to him.

"Good night" Sasuke replied. He stood there for a moment and watched Hinata turn right and disappear. He then turned around to walk home.

---

That night, Hinata had another weird dream about the Chunin exams and its effect on her. No matter how hard she trained and how many original Jutsus she had created, Hinata's strength was actually limited. This made her feel sadden, and found that this hypothesis was actually a fact. It was during the Chunin exams in which her cousin, Neji, left her wounded for the rest of her life.

Each time she tried to get stronger, and each time she came so close to achieving it, her internal wound would open and she will have a cough attack, spitting nothing but blood, and more blood, and more…and more…until suddenly she opened her eyes only to be found at the hospital. Young Hinata decided that she shouldn't let, no, that she would never let her cousin inflict such damage on her, no matter how much she loved him, as a brother of course.

And so those dreams continued, just as the morning light was creeping inside her room and illuminating most of her eyes. Yet she did not wake up.

Neji was in rage, and outside he appeared to be a walking ice. His eyes never giving away any sort of emotion, as his uncle Hiashi told him to go and summon Hinata to his office. Neji was tired of being a messenger, it didn't help that he was already a caged bird, BUT ALSO a messenger bird!

So now here he was, walking and turning left and rights and many corners, that led to Hinata's room. Oh how he HATED the main house so much, how he just wish they would all suddenly die off of some disease right after lifting the cursed seal from the branch family.

How did he feel about his cousin though? It surprised him so much when he found himself being protective over her, as he spied on her the day before. Neji shrugged it off and figured it had to do with his punishment; if Hinata was physically harm by someone who meant to hurt her, he will face a bad punishment. Yea, he didn't really care about Hinata; he was forced into caring for her. His wellbeing depended so much on how well he completed the task as her protector. He concluded that he hated her too; at least he thinks he does…but whatever he will not give too much thought for now.

He knocked on her door five times, and then paused. He felt no type of movement within the room. He recalls there were many times he would hear a loud THUMP followed by some clumsy stumbling and nervous hands opening the door, ah yea those were comical times that made him amused. But anyways he stood there for about another minute and then called out her name. Was she even inside the room? Too bad Byakugans didn't work inside this mansion; each room was strictly sealed so the Byakugan may not see.

He knocked again and got no response and then he came to the conclusion that she was not there, maybe somewhere else inside the mansion…

An old maid holding a basket came walking towards Neji, and her Hyuuga eyes met his, as she smiled.

"Lady Hinata has yet to awake, these days her sleep is becoming heavier so even the sunshine would not wake her up." She said, her kind voice made him hold back a sigh of frustration. The old maid went ahead and opened the door that belongs to Hinata's room. Neji stayed outside but curiously peeked inside to find Hinata asleep…

Hinata's bed was large, bed sheets were on the floor as though she was fighting them off because they were the cause of all the evil in her dreams. Her hand hanged over the edge of the bed, and this was the first time in a long time Neji witness Hinata sleeping.

"Lady Hinata, good morning" The old maid walked to the windows and pulled the curtains aside; her gentle voice had an effect on the sleeping girl who stirred. The maid walked around the room and picked up Hinata's laundry and placed it inside the basket. She walked towards Hinata and brushed her bangs, and that was when Hinata opened her eyes.

This scene made Neji feel very nostalgic. He was not the only one from the branch family who hated those from the main house, however he realized that there must be many people who are attached to Hinata's kind nature. He remember hearing some maid talk about how much she looked like her mother, and that her mother's personality is very similar to the one Hinata inherit.

"Good morning nana Hasumi" Hinata softly smiled up at the elder who has been taking care of her ever since she could remember. This morning felt different though, Hinata sat on the edge of the bed while rubbing her temples. She had become aware of Neji's presence outside.

Neji watched Hinata and waited for her to notice him. Something about his impatience went away. He found it funny the sight of her messy hair. He was not supposed to be here and watch Hinata in her purple nightgown glory. Spaghetti strap, mind you it was also rather SHORT and she was SHOWING too much skin. Then again he was the intruder and this was her room, sanctuary, so she's entitled to her privacy.

He missed the exchange of words between the two, and only noticed when the maid excused herself.

Hinata turned to her cousin, and blushed. She got off of the bed and greeted him with a "Good morning b-brother Neji" before asking him what he was there for. With confusion, Hinata watched her cousin hesitate before speaking to her.

"Your father sent me here to let you know you must report to his office as soon as possible." He said in his monotone voice. Hinata looked shocked and at the same time delighted. When did her father arrive from the business trip? Hinata thanked Neji for letting her know. Again she saw him look thoughtful for a moment before speaking to her.

"I will take my leave now, sorry for interrupting Lady Hinata." Neji bowed in respect, he rarely does that. Is he up to something?

"U-Um…" One of her spaghetti strap slid down her shoulder as she crossed her arms. "Okay Neji, take care." She smiled at him.

Neji tried really hard to compose himself, he have never really been in a situation where he was embarrassed about something like this. The fact that he found himself CHECKING out his COUSIN was just bizarre and insane. Neji cleared his throat and then excused himself before turning around to leave.

"Okay…" She watched her cousin leave then suddenly she looked down at what she was wearing.

_Maybe the sunlight in this room made the hallucination that he was blushing._

---

Hinata exited her room, right after she took a quick shower and got dressed in her usual attire that consist of her oversized grey jacket, navy ninja pants, and the blue ninja sandals. The heiress was trying to tie her ninja headband around her neck, and out of nervous habit, she poked her two fingers together.

_What could father possibly want at this time…?_ Hinata pondered about the possibilities that maybe he was informed about the expensive kimono he gifted her. Or maybe he knew about her fainting two days ago and being brought home by an Uchiha. Her father doesn't particular dislike Sasuke as a person, but hates the Uchiha clan…so…she wasn't sure.

Hinata arrived in front of her father's door, and she took a deep breath before going inside.

"Father…" Hinata was motioned for her to take a sit on the cushion in front of her. She kneeled down on the cushion and sat. "…Welcome back" Hinata bowed in respect, and hadn't meet his eyes yet. She decided that maybe it isn't time to have her emotion give her away, so she hid her guilt and nervousness inside, until he informs her why he summoned her here.

A minute later, the door to Hiashi's office opened. Hinata didn't turn around because she can already tell it was her younger sister Hanabi. Even though Hanabi was only the age of eight, the young girl was really confident and matured for her age.

"Father, sister good afternoon." Hinata saw Hanabi sit next to her from the corner of her eyes.

"Is good to have you back H-Hanabi." Hinata said. Hiashi chose Hanabi to accompany him on this business trip because he felt it was a good opportunity to educate her more.

"It's good to be back." Hanabi turned to Hinata and gave her a sly smile. This had the desired effect on Hinata. The heiress began to fidget with her two index fingers.

Hiashi watched the two interact, and he finally opened his mouth to discuss what this meeting is about.

"Hinata, Hanabi, I'm sure the both of you are now old enough to understand the rule of our clan…concerning marriage." Hinata and Hanabi nodded, both were curious as to why he was talking about this. Hiashi picked up one of the many scrolls that lay on top of his desk, before reading its content.

"The power of our clan, hidden inside a secret within another secret…the length we have to go through just to protect it…no one is to find out one single drop of information.

No one is to taint one single eye within the clan, within the Main branch family. This is law. This is just. That the clan may only marry within the clan, and any foreign blood, will earn the disownment of our own kind, for betraying such rule and such law.

The clan may only sacrifice the branch family, and marry them to an outsider, if ever a treaty arises that could bring peace. But even so, his or her Byakugan will be sealed and removed, to make sure any outsider does not learn about our kind. Also this is a way to ensure that the offspring will not contain the Byakugan.

Those that are disowned by the family, their Byakugan will also be removed by the elders.

Branch family marries within other branch members. The main house family only marries with the main house."

After Hiashi finished reading, Hinata's eyes were completely wide. Her fantasies were ripped away and pulled into reality only to be destroyed. She grew up around her kind; she never stopped to question why the Hyuuga clan kept to themselves, or why they don't marry from outside the clan. She has heard about incest before, but she vaguely paid any attention to all of this.

Hiashi placed down the scroll and turned his eyes to his oldest daughter.

"If you are wondering why I read this today, of all days, the answer is simple Hinata." Hiashi spoke in such a gentle voice that made Hanabi confused and even surprised. He was addressing Hinata with such gentleness; it made her burn a little inside with jealousy.

"I'm aware of what is going on. I know about your infatuation with that Uchiha boy. I've been told he made several appearances here inside the mansion while I was gone.

I am not here to tell you to end this friendship. But I will forbid this affection from growing any stronger. Hinata, I want you to spend less and less time away from this Uchiha boy and more time improving yourself as a ninja." Hiashi hid the guilt and hurt in his voice.

He allowed Hinata to run free, and now he was paying for it. He didn't think Hinata will grow fond of an outsider. Hiashi didn't tell any of the elders about the heiress and the Uchiha Sasuke because he knew the elders will force him to do something more drastic and painful.

He watched his oldest daughter look sad and broken, he then turned his eyes to Hanabi and her expression was blank. He knew Hanabi felt some kind of jealousy, but in time she will learn to realize why Hiashi acts the way he does. And also she will see the reason he treats them both differently, even if his love for the two is the same.

Hinata is the split image of his deceased lover, and wife while Hanabi was the split image of himself. He couldn't stand witnessing Hinata look so depressed, so he decided to dismiss the two.

Hinata was the first to stand up and walk outside without looking back at her father. Hanabi on the other hand, wanted to stay with her father a bit longer, but instead decided to go after Hinata.

Hinata turned around after hearing Hanabi's cold voice call her name. The young sister walked towards her and did something very out of character. Hanabi swallowed her pride and realize that she shouldn't be caged, just like his father was. The young girl didn't want to end up holding back her feelings just like his father did all the time; after all she was still young.

Hinata stood in place, frozen. The last thing she expected was a hug from Hanabi. She missed these hug. When Hanabi was younger, the two used to snuggle all the time and play together. Back then, Hanabi wasn't really skilled at gentle fist, so Hinata was teaching Hanabi everything she learned from her father. Eventually, everyone mistook Hanabi for another born genius and didn't know that all along it was Hinata making the 5 year old Hanabi stronger and faster than other kids her age.

"H-Hanabi…" Hinata hugged her sister and a few tears spilled on Hanabi's shoulder.

"Hinata, no matter how cold I've become, please know that I still care about you so much. It was thanks to you that I became…the center of attention to everyone, while you were casted aside as weak…I shouldn't have the right to be jealous of you, when you have done nothing but help me become strong for the both of us…" Hanabi whispered as she continued to hug her older sister.

"Thank you…you don't know how much I appreciate this. I-I thought I lost you as a si-sister." Hanabi felt bitter and guilty inside after hearing this. Maybe it is time to cast aside her jealousy, and try to behave more like a sister, than an enemy.

"Hinata, please go and change, if you have nothing better to do, I will cancel the training with father, and spar with you instead." Hanabi said, finally letting her sister pull from the hug.

"Okay, I'll be back soon." Hinata was about to rub her eyes when a hand caught her wrist.

"Rubbing your eye might cause it to become red and infected. It might get in the way of training." Hanabi scolded her, and this made Hinata want to smile.

"Alright, I won't do that." Hinata turned around and started to run towards her room to change into the traditional black uniform, which was used by the Hyuugas to train.

_Sasuke…Naruto…why am I limited to so many things in life? _Hinata pulled her dark blue hair into a bun, and exited her room. She made her way towards the training ground.

Hinata walked around the Hyuuga mansion and arrived at the training ground to see that Hanabi was warming up, and far to the other side she saw her cousin Neji and her father sparring.

"Hanabi, I-I'm ready" Hinata walked towards Hanabi just as Neji and Hiashi finished their sparring section to go sit on the side to watch the two. Ah, so this is how is going to be, maybe it was Hiashi that requested Hanabi to spar with Hinata so he could see if there was any visible improvement. Hinata felt like sighing for over analyzing too much.

"Sister, let's start with a warm~" Hinata almost raised her eyebrow at the sweet tone of her younger sister.

_Like you weren't already warming up? _Hinata simply smiled and nodded.

---

Hanabi was never the one to look up to Hinata after being beaten on the ground yet here she was, staring at the worried face of her older sister Hinata who kneeled next to next to her.

"Hanabi…" Hinata gave him a weak smile. "I-I'm sorry!" Hanabi was confused about what Hinata just said. Hanabi expected her sister to grin with a look of confidence and taunt her for losing to her, but she didn't. Instead she just looked guilty about something.

"Hinata, relax it was just a spar. I went too easy on you, because I…" Hanabi trailed off.

"…You didn't think that I had improved?" Hinata finished her sentence. Hanabi tried to not feel guilty about the words they exchanged. But when did Hinata get this strong…? Usually she was clumsy, everything but graceful and flexible. The truth was, Hanabi didn't hold back on her sister, she only said that because she didn't want to feel dispirited about losing to the older sister that is usually looked upon as "Weak".

Or could it be that Hinata was simply hiding the fact that she's really strong…?

Hiashi and Neji walked over to the scene. He looked down at his daughter with pride and offered Hinata a smile.

"Hinata, you have proved to us that your strength surpasses Hanabi's. I'm proud to have you as my daughter." Wait a minute…Hinata looked around to see that Hiashi and Neji hadn't been the only one watching the fight. Several elders along with many other people from main family just witness this interesting fight.

"Thank you" Hinata smiled and hid her feelings of confusion and guilt…it just wasn't fair. The heiress was confused as to why her body was this way.

Even Kurenai, Kiba and Shino had mentioned something about it before. They commented on how Hinata was suddenly becoming stronger, faster, and smarter practically out of the blue.

When Hinata battled with others, she felt like she was so experienced at what she did. In conclusion, Hinata was beginning to think that all of this had something to do with the "Dreams" she had been having. She started to question if she should even consider them "dreams".

"_Hinata, you have proved to us that your strength surpasses Hanabi's. I'm proud to have you as my daughter."_ Hanabi stood up from the ground with the help of her father. She wanted to kick and punch the living life out of someone. Having being so used to her father always praising her, and telling her how strong she was in comparison of Hinata.

_I shouldn't have the right to be jealous of you, when you have done nothing but help me become strong for the both of us…_ Hanabi remembered the words she shared with Hinata earlier. The young girl pushed aside her jealously instead of letting it overcome her.

"Hinata, let's go to the hot spring" Hanabi said, a small smile graced her lips. She took Hinata by the hand and led her away from everyone.

----

"I'm not particular interested in people's love life. But I want to know what you're going to do about this Uchiha guy." Hanabi and Hinata were letting their muscles relax with the warm water of the Hyuuga hot springs. The two had a while towel covering themselves as the sat inside the hot springs, leaning against the rocks. Luckily no one else was around.

"I…don't know. Yesterday he…he…sort of confessed to me. We were together at the festival and…I feel so sad. I-I didn't mean to make him like me…I-If only I had known…maybe I would have stayed away so he won't notice me." Hinata said.

"I'm so glad I am not in love or anything that has to do with that disgusting emotion." Hanabi realized this wasn't helping Hinata. "But if I were you, I would change that stupid law as soon as I become the leader of this clan." Hinata smiled at her younger sister.

"It's not that easy Hanabi…That law has been around for over 100 years. I have thought of the same thing…so meanwhile I need to become stronger and smarter if I'm going to deal with those elders." Hinata sunk deeper into the hot spring. She still held her up her hair in a messy pony tail, while Hanabi's hair was still down, and getting wet.

"Sheesh you got to think of all these possibilities. By the time you become leader of this clan, who knows maybe most of the elders will be dead by then." Hinata's eyes widen at Hanabi's comment.

"Hanabi! That's so rude! Ne-Never say those kinds of things again!" Hanabi rolled her eyes at her sister's reaction.

"But you know you're thinking about what I said just now hahaha~" Hinata felt guilty, of course Hanabi was right.

"Oh shush y-you little…brat!" Hanabi raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"Brat? Yea you're soooo original~" Hinata could hear the sarcasm in Hanabi's voice. But nevertheless, she smiled.

---

It's not very often that a person witness Hinata and Hanabi walk side by side, on the streets of Konoha. So everywhere they turned, eyes followed the two. Hinata was dressed in her regular ninja attire and Hanabi as well. Hanabi was dressed in a simple black ninja shirt, dark ninja pants and blue sandals. Her long brown hair sometimes spill over her face so she had this habit of always tucking her brown hair behind her ear.

"Hinata, is it really that weird to see me with you?" Hanabi asked, she was confused at the looks villagers were giving her. They looked at the two in awe.

"If you ask me, n-no is not weird, just rare." Hinata replied. She took Hanabi's hand in her and this caused Hanabi to stare back at Hinata.

"I'm not a child." Hinata watched Hanabi pout and giggled.

"That may be true, but I want them to see how close we are. R-Rumors I've h-heard before stated that you and I h-hate one another." Hinata explained.

"Seriously these low life villagers need to be executed." Hanabi said loud enough for some people to hear.

"Hanabi! Shush, people are staring and whispering even more than before!" Hinata scolded her younger sister. Hanabi shrugged it of and the rest of the trip went with silence.

Hinata wanted to pay a visit to Sasuke and talk to him. For some reason Hanabi insisted to take her along so Hinata won't feel so lonely. Hinata had a suspicion that Hanabi had a hidden agenda.

Hinata was surprise to find Sasuke helping Konohamaru train. It seems that Sasuke was also helping him out by pointing out Konohamaru's fault. Konohamaru is the grandson of the 3rd Hokage. He younger boy was wearing some kind of grey helmet, and his brown spiky hair was sticking up. He also had a blue scarf around his neck, a yellow shirt with the Konoha village sign in the front center. He wore grey ninja pants, and his blue ninja sandals matched with his scarf.

Sasuke halted his training after realizing Hinata was there. They were currently at the training ground that was near the Hokage tower.

Hanabi was watching Hinata hesitate so she went behind her sister and gave her a slight push.

"Uchiha, Konohamaru, I apologize on behalf of my mute sister, for interrupting your training." Hanabi's "apology" caused Hinata to start blushing. Sasuke guessed that this must be Hinata's younger sister Hanabi. On regular days, Sasuke would have smirked at hearing such a comment.

Sasuke turned to the boy that he was training and said, "Hn, Konohamaru we'll resume with training after I talk with Hinata." The young kid nodded and grinned before giving him thumbs up. "Okay brother Sasuke!"

Sasuke motioned Hinata to follow him right after he walked past her. Hanabi pushed Hinata again, telling her to go. The two began to walk outside of the training ground, leaving Hanabi and Konohamaru alone.

--

Sasuke and Hinata arrived at what it seems to be the forest located on the north from the training ground.

Hinata avoided tripping over tree branches that was on the ground. She made her way towards the largest tree that was around, and leaned against it.

"T-The way you're looking at me Sasuke…" Hinata trailed off as she followed Sasuke with her eyes. He had his hand inside his grey, almost white looking pockets. Sasuke walked and stood in front of Hinata. "…It makes me believe that you know why I'm here." Sasuke's eyes looked dangerously angry. And all this anger seems to be directed at her.

"Last night after I came home, I was summoned by master Sarutobi. He handed me this very interesting scroll involving your clan and its rule." Sasuke said. His dark tone made Hinata want to turn into some liquid only be absorbed by the plans so they can photosynthesize.

"I-I didn't l-learn ab-about that till today!" She couldn't describe how horrible she felt for being unaware of it, for letting things happen, for leading him on.

"That sounds like a lie! How can you not have knowledge about your own clan and the way it works?!" Sasuke had lost his cool, and ended up raising his voice.

"I…did not come here to argue with you. I-I thought that maybe…we can…" _Maintain a secret relationship?_

"Maybe we can what? Remain _friends_? I have a much better idea Hinata" Sasuke paused after recalling Neji's words to him.

_Do you realize that your actions are only causing trouble for Lady Hinata!?_ Sasuke frowned after remembering those words. He hadn't known what it meant, and he wasn't sure why his master Sarutobi, the 3rd Hokage didn't mention this to him earlier. He was only causing problems, Sasuke didn't want to bring any hardship and pain, it was never his intentions…

"Let's-"

"-Sasuke…" Hinata didn't like the cold tone in his voice.

"-Keep-"He kept going even with her interruptions.

"-wait p-please no!" She didn't want to hear what he was about to say, because she was sure it wasn't something nice.

"-a distance." Hinata felt her body go numb after hearing these words.

"Y-You can't mean that…" Of course Sasuke didn't mean what he just said. But he had this strong believe that what he was doing for Hinata was the right thing. It hurt him a lot, his heart clenched on his chest. Just yesterday he admitted to having some kind of affection for her. He didn't think about the future…he had been too absorbed on how pretty Hinata looked, he never stop to think that this might be forbidden for the two.

Sasuke couldn't stand the sight of Hinata sliding down to the ground and hugging her knees while crying. He made sure his expression remained cold and unforgiving, as he turned around to leave her there.

"I meant every word." He lied.

He had done the right thing…right…? What Sasuke didn't realize was that one day he will live to regret and resent this day.


End file.
